Jungles Aren't Oceans
by TheWildWitch
Summary: Hey there! I am a Quizillian who's invading. XD Seriously though, I'm from Quizilla (rpfairygirl), and I thought I'd share my stories on here too. This is my Kaldur'Ahm love story. Enjoy! :D
1. Info & Chapter 1

**INFO**

**NAME: **Feralyn

**AGE: **almost 16

**PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: **Waist-length black and orange striped hair, evergreen eyes, darkly tanned skin, leanly muscled, about 5'6", 130 lbs. when human (300 lbs. in tiger form)

**PERSONALITY: **kind, compassionate, quiet, predatory, calculating, fun-loving, & gentle

**POWERS: **I have the ability to turn into a full tiger/half-tiger, turn invisible, and read peoples' emotions & thoughts. I have all the tiger's advanced senses, stealth, & agility, & I can astral project.

**BACKGROUND: **I was born as the crown princess of Felina, a kingdom full of cat people, that's hidden deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle. I grew up as a relatively happy child. I had been taught how to hunt, fight, and rule. When I was almost 11-years-old, my parents died from a plague that was sweeping our kingdom before it was able to be detained. My parents were among the few Felinians that died. I was crowned queen about a month after my parents died, on my 11th birthday. I've ruled ever since then. At age 13, I was visited by a group of super heroes called the Justice League and their sidekicks to discuss matters of whether I'd find them a threat to my beloved Felina. The sidekicks Speedy, Robin, and Kid Flash saved my life when rocks were falling from a cliff overhang. Since then, they've stopped by as much as they're allowed and were the best friends that a queen could hope for.

**CHAPTER ONE**

I sighed as I listened to an underling stating the day's scheduled visitors. I was sitting on the throne with my elbow on the arm and my head in my hand. It was regular, day-to-day protocol. I hated it with a passion because it bored me to tears. I was just beginning a daydream when I heard two more than familiar names.

"Robin and Kid Flash of the Justice League will be coming in a few hours to discuss some matter dealing with their team of young heroes." The underling read from his scroll. I immediately perked up.

"You are dismissed. I must prepare for the meeting with the Justice League representatives." I waved my hand, and the underling bowed and backed out into the jungle.

I stood and shifted quickly into tiger form. I raced through the very open jungle palace to my room with its very large walk-in closet. It had everything, including disappearing compartments for the most expensive jewelry I own and clothes that I'm forbidden to wear in public.

I shifted back to human form and pulled out a dark green strapless dress that went past my feet with a small bit of a train. I checked the time and decided to order refreshments to be made since I knew Kid Flash would be starving as usual, so I ordered 5 platters of some of our finest food and a small platter of snacks that's popular in the United States.

I sat on my throne, waiting for my friends to arrive. I had slightly dozed off when a beyond familiar laugh woke me up. I looked around fully alert and saw my friends, Kid Flash and Robin.

I jumped on them and yelled joyfully, "You're here!" Not too queen-like, huh?

"Hey, Fera. It's nice to see you again." Kid Flash greeted me as he hugged me tightly and warmly.

"He knows you're going to feed him, so he's being extra nice." Robin joked, smiling happily. He hugged me just as warmly.

"Come. We have much to discuss, and there are too many hidden audiences here." I said, leading them to a private conference room.

After the door was shut and locked, I sat the boys next to me on the large couch. We chatted about how each of our lives have gone, people we've met, and other things. Finally, I asked, "So, what brings you here?"

They looked at each other nervously, and then Robin said, "We're here to ask you to join the Young Justice League. We could really use you're help with some of our missions, and we'd love to have you around."

"We understand if you can't come being the queen and all." Kid Flash added quickly.

I sat there thinking about their offer. After about 10 minutes, I spoke. "I will join you. The only problem is getting me out of here. If I sneak out, they'll think you kidnapped me. And I can't leave Kitty in charge. She's too young."

"What about leaving and having them call you over the face talking panel thingies if they need you?" Kid Flash suggested. Robin laughed at his poor attempt of naming the holographic screens used for communication.

"I could do that. When are you leaving?" I questioned.

"We're leaving today. We were instructed by Batman that if we couldn't get you to join today to leave almost immediately to return to our base." Robin answered.

"Hm. Well, I guess I'd better get packed and tell my sister I'm leaving. Follow me please." I decided, switching back to the queen speech. I stood up and motioned to the door.

They nodded and followed me as I lead them down the twisting hallways and up the staircases to my bedroom. They stared in awe at how large the room is and how open. It's in jungle colors to make it hard to see from out in the jungle.

"This is your room?" Robin asked, shocked.

"Yeah. This is my room. My walk-in closet's over through that door if you want to see that. It's a bit big, I warn you." I replied, pulling out a couple of suitcases and a duffel bag I stashed under my bed. I had actually been thinking about running away when I first came to the throne and had hidden the bags for the needed time of departure.

The boys opened the door of my closet and switched on the lights. They gasped in shock, and Robin exclaimed, "I am officially overwhelmed!"

I laughed and carried the bags into the closest, leading my friends farther into the extremely large room. I set the suitcases down and started filling them with the forbidden clothes and the sun dresses that many of the elders frowned upon but allowed, if only begrudgingly. I pulled out my tiger's eye pendant and slipped it around my neck.

I put at the top of the 2nd suitcase the hunter's outfit made of tiger fur that's very special to me. My mother had made it for me for my 10th birthday. Mother knew I didn't like being restricted to sitting on a throne when I loved to hunt and run through the jungle. If she were still here…

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. My train of thought would have just made me more grief-filled than I already am.

"Your closet has to be larger than my entire house!" Kid Flash exclaimed, looking around.

"Not mine. My house is pretty big." Robin laughed.

"Then, invite me over to see it. I really want to go to your house." Kid Flash whined, jumping on Robin.

"You know I can't do that. Batman would tie me up and drag me behind the Batmobile for 3 cities!" Robin said, slipping out of Kid Flash's grip.

"If you two start wrestling in here, I will certainly kick both your butts!" I threaten, packing my pictures, books, and music player into the duffel bag. I slipped my small jewelry case into the bag and then zipped it up.

My jungle green ballet flats made no noise on the tiled floor as I walked over to the boys. "I'm ready. Just let me stop next door to tell Kitty. She'll be worried sick if I leave without telling her."

I lead them to the room next door and knocked on the door. It opened slowly, and my 4-year-old sister's small, black-haired head popped out of the doorway. She smiled happily and exclaimed, "Big sissy!" She jumped into my outstretched arms and threw her skinny, weak arms around my neck.

"Easy. Don't get too excited now." I said, hugging her gently.

She noticed my friends and the bags and asked, "Are these your friends? Why are they here? And what's with the bags? Are they staying?"

I smiled gently as I set her down and leaned down to talk to her face to face. She prefers that she's spoken to like an adult. I spoke quietly, "These are my friends. They're here to visit, and they're also here on business. They asked me to join their Young Justice League, and I said I would. We're leaving today."

"You're leaving me?" Kitty sniffled. She's the only family I have left, and I hate to leave her.

"She can come if she wants to." Kid suggested, smiling kindly at Kitty.

"I-I can? I-I want to go with my big sissy!" she stammered, throwing her skinny arms around my neck again.

"You two will be in for a change then. We're pretty far from a jungle." Robin warned.

"We're going and that's that, Rob." I finished, carrying my sister into her room and helping her pack her things.

After everything was packed and I had notified the proper members of the council, Kid and Robin led us out onto a landing pad where a very sleek, red ship sat. I felt a vibration and realized that the ship was alive.

"This is the Bioship. It belongs to a friend of ours who's waiting inside to meet you." Kid explained as the door opened.

I inhaled the thick jungle air and caught the scent of something new. "Please tell me your friend is the Martian I smell." I hissed, a growl rising in my throat.

Robin and Kid Flash looked surprised, and a voice from inside the ship answered, "You can smell me? I thought the boys were exaggerating when they told us about your powers."

A green Martian girl with shoulder-length ginger hair floated down the ramp wearing a white shirt with a red X across it. Her blue cape flowed out behind her and was the same color as her skirt and boots.

I inhaled deeply and only smelled her foreign scent. I relaxed quite a bit. I greeted her with a welcoming smile. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Queen Feralyn and this is my little sister, Princess Katriana."

The Martian girl smiled back. "Hi. My name's M'gann, but you can call me Meghan or Miss Martian."

"This is a very nice ship, M'gann. Your ship, she's so calm and beautiful. You must do a great job of taking care of her." I compliment as the Bioship sends out another wave of pleasant vibrations.

"She thanks you for your compliment. C'mon. We should get going, so you can meet the team." M'gann said, leading us all onto the ship. We dragged the 5 bags onto the ship and took our seats. Kitty sat on my lap and fell asleep.

I spend my time discussing the types of missions the team goes on, their supervisors, and - most of all - the members. Robin pulled up their files for me to look at.

"Quite a diverse team you have here: an Atlantean boy, a Kryptonian boy, a Martian girl, an acrobat/tech-head, and a speedster." I whistled.

"And now, a queen." Kid added, smiling happily. I glance at Miss Martian, and she's staring at me completely puzzled and a little frustrated.

'She can't read my mind because of all my training.' I laughed inwardly. As every young Feline learned, I had been taught how to protect my mind from beings that could read, manipulate, and scar my mind.

"Quit trying to read my mind, M'gann. You won't be able to no matter how much you try." I spoke out loud.

"H-How…?" she stammered, surprised that I realized what she's doing.

"It wasn't hard to guess after reading your file." I answered quickly.

After that, I started day dreaming. I dreamed of running through the jungle in my tiger form. I heard an unfamiliar boy's laughter, and I glanced through the trees to see the Atlantean boy who was on my friends' team. He was about to catch me when Robin was shaking me back to reality.

"Quit shaking me so that Kitty can sleep longer. She needs it." I hissed quietly and groggily, pulling my sister onto my back and grabbing 2 of the bags. My friends and M'gann each picked up a bag and lead me down the loading ramp. We were in a large cavern inside a mountain. Red Tornado and Black Canary were waiting for us.

"Welcome to Mt. Justice, your Majesty." Canary greeted us, smiling welcomingly and curtsying.

"Kid Flash, gather the team and tell them our guests have arrived." Red Tornado ordered in his mechanical, emotionless voice.

Kid sped away and was back in less than a minute. Robin laughed, "New record for calling the team, KF."

In a few short minutes, everyone had gathered in a sort of training/briefing room. M'gann went to stand by the Kryptonian. I guessed she liked him.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Queen Feralyn of Felina and this is my sister, Princess Katriana. Please speak quietly so that she can sleep." I said quietly.

"Welcome to the team, Queen Feralyn. I'm known as Aqualad. My name is Kaldur'Ahm, but my friends call me Kaldur. I'm team leader." The Atlantean boy said just as quietly. He smiled kindly at both my sister and me, but there was something I couldn't place in his light sea-foam green eyes.

"Superboy." The Kryptonian stated simply, giving an attempt at a small but somewhat warm smile.

"Why don't Superboy and I give you the tour since we live here full-time?" M'gann suggested happily.

"That sounds wonderful, M'gann, but Kitty would hate us if she missed the tour. She's already missed meeting everyone." I replied apologetically.

"It's alright. We can show you around later. We can at least take you things to your room." M'gann waved it off, grabbing a suitcase.

I grabbed my two suitcases and tried to grab my duffel bag when Kaldur picked it up, brushing my outstretched hand lightly. He said, "Let me carry these for you." He picked up Kitty's other bag.

M'gann led us through several twisting hallways and finally to an orange door with a green cat eye and tiger stripes on it. She turned around and motioned to the door. Quietly, she said, "This is your room. Mine's just down the hallway, and we'll fix up the adjoining room next door for your sister if you want."

"It's fine. Thank you." I smiled and walked into my new room. As I laid my sister on the forest green bed, Kaldur set the bags next to the others and motioned me over to him.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me in a whisper when I was standing next to him.

"I'm starving. Wally didn't save any food for me or Robin." I whispered back, smiling.

He silently nodded and led me to the kitchen. He had me sit down on one of the bar stools and tried to cook. I couldn't help but laugh when he tried to turn the stove on, and he turned the knob the wrong way.

I stood up, walked over, and moved his hand away from the stove. I smiled up at him and suggested, "Kaldur, please stop trying to cook before you hurt yourself. Now, how about you sit down and I cook?"

I made him sit on my previously occupied bar stool and opened the fridge to see what there was to use. There was some fresh fish that was really tempting, but with Kaldur being an Atlantean, I decided against it. I settled for the fresh tropical fruit. I cut and peeled the fruit, tossing most of it into the blender with some vanilla yogurt and ice.

I turned to Kaldur with a small slice of fresh mango. I held it up to him and offered, "Want some mango?"

"Yes. Thank you." He replied, smiling. He took it out of my hand and ate the slice in one quick bite. A bit of mango juice dribbled down his chin, so I grabbed a napkin and handed it to him.

He thanked me, and then I turned to blend up the smoothies. I poured two glasses with some left over. I handed Kaldur a glass and sipped on mine. I was about to put the rest of the smoothie in the fridge when a slight wind picked up and the smoothie was being pulled out of my hand.

"Sweet! Tropical fruit smoothie!" Wally cheered, pouring the rest of the smoothie into a very large glass. He was in street clothes and looked very hungry.

"Let me guess, your fresh food senses were tingling." I joked, sitting next to Kaldur at the bar.

"You got it, babe." Kid flashed me his best flirty smile, and I laughed at his ridiculousness. He sat on my other side at the bar and nudged me in my side, hoping I would be ticklish.

"I'm not ticklish, Wally." I stated, taking a large drink of my smoothie.

Wally pouted and chugged his smoothie. He held out his glass to me and ordered, "More smoothies."

"Wally, can't you make it yourself?" Kaldur asked, for some reason sounding agitated and frowning.

"It's alright, Kaldur. Wally, if I show you how to make it, you have to make it yourself from now on, got it?" I bargained, getting out more fruit, yogurt, and ice.

"Got it. So, show me how to make these delicious, fruity concoctions." Wally agreed, watching me closely.

"First, you peel and chop the fruit." I chopped up some fruit and handed him the knife. "Here, you try now." I moved my hand around his and helped him chop some pineapple. "That's it. Good job. Now, try on your own." I moved away and watched. Wally chopped it a little clumsily at first but got better.

"Now what?" he asked, his hands covered in various fruit juices.

"Next, we put everything into the blender." I answered, picking up the fruit and dropping it into the blender. Wally threw in the ice and scraped the yogurt into the blender with a spoon.

"Now, we blend it up, right?" Wally prompted, smiling.

"You guessed it." I said, smiling back.

After it was all blended, I poured it into Wally's glass. There wasn't much left, so I carried it over to Kaldur.

"Refill?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes, please." He answered as I filled his glass. I finished and refilled mine. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Kaldur." I said, smiling as I sipped smoothie through the purple straw.

"Let's see if your sister is up. I'll give you two the tour if she is. If she isn't, we can just talk." Kaldur suggested, carrying his glass in one hand and offering his other arm to me.

I held his arm with my hand, feeling like the queen I'm supposed to be. I said, "She'll most likely not be up. She has nightmares often, but some nights are worse than others. She needed the sleep pretty badly. I swear, Kitty is afraid of the world. I'm surprised she even came with us."

We reached my room and opened the door. I dropped my hand from his arm when I heard my sister stirring. Kitty was just waking up when we were walking into our room. She looked over at us and held up her arms, motioning for me to pick her up.

I sat the smoothie on the bedside table and scooped her up into my arms like an infant. I kissed her forehead and asked, "Sleep well, Kitten?"

"Very." She answered groggily, burying her face in my neck. She looked at Kaldur and asked, "Who's he?"

"This is Kaldur, and he's my team leader. He's going to give us a tour of our new home." I replied, handing her the smoothie. She drank it happily, the fruit reminding her of home.

"If you're ready, we can start the tour now." Kaldur said, his voice flowing like water.

"We're ready." I said over Kitty's loud slurping.

He smiled and led us out the door. He started the tour in the kitchen where Wally was raiding the fridge again. Everyone we met was dressed in street clothes. We ended up in the living room where Superboy was watching TV.

I had introduced Kitty to the heroes that we met, but we didn't see Robin or M'gann at all during the tour.

"Hi, Superboy. Kitty, this is Superboy." I introduced my sister to the Kryptonian.

He smiled kindly and waved, and then he went back to watching TV. I saw it was the news, and Superman had just appeared on the screen. Superboy turned the TV off and stormed out of the room.

Once he was out of super-hearing range, Kaldur explained, "Superboy has unresolved anger with Superman. When he was introduced to Superman, he was handed off. He'd thought of Superman as a father-figure. He's still mad at him, but he's getting better."

I nod in understanding. I set Kitty on her feet, and she jumped onto the vacated couch and started watching TV. The news was still on, but the story wasn't something I wanted my 4-year-old sister watching. I grabbed the remote and put on the most harmless cartoons possible.

M'gann walked in and yawned like she'd just woken up from a nap. She smiled when she saw us, and she sat down next to Kitty and hugged her.

"Hi, Kitty. Mind if I watch with you?" She asked, smiling.

"Not at all, M'gann." Kitty replied, smiling her gap toothed grin.

"Queen Feralyn-" Kaldur started.

"Please. Call me Fera. No need for this honors stuff when I'm with friends." I interrupted, smiling warmly and facing him.

"Fera, we need to discuss an upcoming mission. Batman wanted you briefed as soon as possible." Kalder finished seriously.

"Okay, business talk. M'gann, could you watch Kitty for a little while?" I asked, turning to the couch.

She looked up at me and replied, smiling, "I'd love to!"

"Thanks." I said as Kaldur led me away to the room where I'd met everyone.

He pulled up several files, showing them all to me. I read them down to every last detail and studied the charts and pictures meticulously. Kaldur started talking about what has been reported, the mission's function, and anything else that would be helpful.

"It's a stealth mission, correct?" I asked, reading the last bit of the file and then looking up at him.

"Correct. You need to retrieve the case and get out of there without getting caught. There shouldn't be anything too challenging. Reports show that it's very low on security." Kaldur answered.

I sighed, "I'm going to have to be in costume, aren't I?"

"Yes, but I don't know how you'd hide your face if you're trying to hide your identity." Kaldur said, a little surprised.

"I got it covered." I waved it off, quickly shifting into my half-tiger form. Tiger fur covered my body from head to toe, my ears and tail had appeared, my face configured to look like part tiger and part human, and my bone structure changed to that of a humanoid tiger.

Kaldur's eyes grew wide, but then he smiled. "That will work."

'Unreadable smile. Definitely _not _a good sign.' I thought, keeping my face void of emotion.

"M'gann and I will drop you off at the lab, but we can only stay around for so long. They have a system for detecting alien and Atlantean DNA." He continued.

"Then, how come you expect me to be able to get in?" I asked, confused.

"It's specifically wired for Martian DNA. Your people rarely leave Felina, so they don't have Feline DNA wired into systems." Kaldur explained.

"Let me get changed into my costume, and we can leave right after." I said, changing back into my human form.

"Alright. Meet M'gann and myself in the hangar when you're done." He said warmly as he pointed towards the door to the hangar.

"I will." I waved and ran back to my room. I stopped in the living room and told M'gann and Kitty what was going on, then I went to my room and changed into the tiger skin hunters' outfit.

I was the first to the hangar surprisingly, so I decided a little meditation wouldn't hurt. I sat cross-legged in front of the Bioship and concentrated on breathing. I picked up on emotions and scattered thoughts. I felt a warm, happy emotion coming from someone here. I'd never felt it before, so I concentrated on it more. I could feel the source coming closer to me, and when someone cleared their throat close to me, I jumped into a battle stance, ready to pounce on whoever was threatening me.

I saw Kaldur and M'gann standing there, looking a mixture of surprise and a large amount of fear. Surprise was understandable, but the fear made my insides feel hollow with sadness.

"Oh. Uh, hey." I said lamely, feeling my face fall and my body go limp.

"Hi! Ready to go?" M'gann asked, trying to keep us in higher spirits.

"Yes." I answered, my face hardening into the unreadable mask of a predator going in for the kill.

We boarded the Bioship without another word, and the ride to the lab was fairly quiet. The only thing I felt was the guilt coming from both in waves that threatened to drown me. Finally, we arrived at the lab. I shifted into my half-tiger form and renewed my predatory mask that was my face.

I was about to silently leap down onto the building when Kaldur stopped me by grabbing my hand. I looked into his eyes and then looked away quickly. Sadness and guilt were very readable in his eyes.

"Fera, I'm sorry that we made you feel sad. We're both very sorry." He apologized as M'gann nodded in agreement.

"It's fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to complete." I said, leaping down onto the building silently and invisibly. My face may have been invisible, but I kept it an unreadable mask all the same.

I snuck in through the air vent which was as easy as disappearing into the humid Amazonian jungle. I slid along silently until I reached my objective, the lab computers. Dropping down carefully, I easily hacked my way into the computers.

'Way too easy. Keep your guard up, Fera.' I thought.

I finished hacking and found the files I needed. I had no clue what they're about, but if the League needed them, they must be important. I downloaded them onto my thumb drive, deleted the originals, and leapt up into the air vent. I slipped through them silently, and I made it to the roof. I was about to jump into the Bioship when the alarms went off.

I cursed myself silently as three security guards plowed onto the roof. I whirled around, dropping my invisibility. Growling, I slowly stalked towards them.

One of them shouted in fear and ran back down the stairs. The other two advanced with lack of caution. They didn't even realize they were down until I was leaping gracefully into the Bioship.

I shifted back into human form, tossed Kaldur the thumb drive, and sat staring out the window the entire ride back. They tried to talk, but I was seriously not in the mood. I was still sad from earlier, and I was honestly a little mad at them. They were supposed to be my new friends, right? Then, why didn't they treat me like a friend? Friends aren't afraid of each other.

We landed in the hangar, and I was the first off the ship, not speaking to either Kaldur or M'gann. I just walked back to my room and collapsed on my bed. I fell asleep instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

I dreamed again. I was running through the jungle again, but this time I looked back and saw no one chasing me. I felt horrible, echoing pangs of loneliness. I _wanted _Kaldur to be chasing me again. I didn't know why, I just knew I did.

I woke up to Kitty's soft snoring. She was tucked under my arm and curled up into my side. Her slow, rhythmic breathing put me at ease. I realized how tense I had been since yesterday. I was drifting back into sleep when I smelled something utterly delicious and mouthwatering.

I crept carefully out of bed and pulled on an orange crop top with spaghetti straps and black capris. After slipping on my tiger's eye pendant and doing a few bathroom things, I ran out the door silently and followed my nose to the delicious smell. It led me to the kitchen. Guess who was cooking.

You guessed it. Kaldur. He was standing at the stove making enough eggs and bacon to feed an army; or at least Wally and a maybe few other people.

I was creeping out of the doorway when M'gann ran right into me. She smiled brightly and said good morning to me. I picked up Kaldur turning around by the scuffling of his bare feet on the tile.

"Good morning, Fera. I hope you slept well." Kaldur said, smiling warmly.

"Yeah, I guess. Don't think that you two are off the hook for one second. Tigers hold grudges." I grumbled, taking a clean plate and loading it with food. I sat down at the table and started shoveling food in my mouth.

"We do not understand what we did to make you angry. Would you care to explain?" Kaldur asked, sitting down next to me with his food.

I swallowed my mouthful of food and blurted, "You're my friends, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are, but I do not see-" He started.

"Friends are supposed to not be afraid of their friends. Yesterday, you looked at me with fear when I'd thought we'd been getting along great together, like we could be wonderful friends. But I guess that I was wrong." I cut him off angrily, shoveling the last of my food into my mouth.

"Let me ask you something. Would you be afraid if a girl that can change into a tiger jumped into a battle stance when you were walking up to meet her?" M'gann asked.

"No. Seeing as I'm the queen of a race of such people, I would not fear them. They are my loving people, and I am the queen the cares for them. It will be a sad day when I'm afraid of them." I replied, getting up and walking over to the sink. I rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher.

"Well, we aren't Felines. We are not used to people turning into large cats, and we would definitely be scared if one looked like they were about to kill us." M'gann said.

I heard Kitty walking down the hall, rubbing tears from her eyes. She walked into the kitchen, holding up her arms. I smiled, walked over, and picked her up, cradling her like she was a baby again.

I kissed her forehead and asked, "What's wrong, my sweet Kitten?"

She sniffled and replied, "I had a nightmare that you left me all alone for _him._" She pointed at Kaldur as she hissed the last word.

"You don't have to worry about that, Kitten. I'll never leave you." I promised, kissing her forehead again and hugging her tightly.

"Food..." She whined. I laughed, filled up a plate for her, and sat her down on my lap at the table.

She shoveled food into her mouth like it was her last meal ever. Pretty soon the food was gone, and we were all comfortably full.

"What's going on today?" I asked curiously.

M'gann smiled and yelled, "Beach day!"

"Alright!" Robin exclaimed, walking into the kitchen.

"Beach day? What's a beach day, big sissy?" Kitty asked, looking up at me expectantly.

"I think it's when we spend all day at the beach. We'll make sandcastles, go swimming in the ocean, and all that fun ocean stuff." I replied, kissing her forehead again.

"You are correct. Too bad Wally starts school today." Kaldur said, standing up. He dismissed us, and we all went to our rooms and got changed into swimsuits.

I was walking out of my room wearing my army green bikini and gray cover-up when I heard a loud crash back in my room. I spun around and ran back inside.

I saw Kitty lying under a pile of clothes. She had her hands tightly gripping her cute, frilly red one piece swimsuit with a black splatter paint pattern on it. I giggled and then pulled her out from under the clothes. She changed, and then we walked out to the beach together.

Kaldur, Superboy, M'gann, and Robin were already waiting there for us. M'gann was the first to run out towards the water.

"Hello, Meghan! We should hit the beach every day!" She exclaimed as the rest of us caught up to her, obviously going at a normal walk.

Kitty let go of my hand and ran into the water, jumping right through a wave that was about a foot taller than her. I yelled at her to be careful, and then turned to my teammates with one eye on the water.

Robin rested his forehead on his hand and said slowly, "First, a moment of silence for our absent comrade."

"Poor Wally." M'gann said, looking at the ground sadly.

"Hey! Let's have enough fun for Wally and ourselves today! Can't we go to the beach again during a weekend just for him?" I tried to cheer everyone up.

"Of course. So, let's hit the water!" Kaldur exclaimed, racing towards the water.

I beat him to the water and dove in, laughing. I swam out in deeper water for a while before heading to shallower water. I splashed Kaldur in the face just as he was coming up.

"Hey!" He smiled as he started to chase me. I just ran through the water laughing. He finally caught me, grabbing me around the waist and carrying me over to M'gann, Robin, and Kitty, who were having a splash war. M'gann and Robin were being extra gentle when they splashed Kitty.

Kaldur and I just stood there and watched the splash war, his arms still around my waist. His chin came to rest on my shoulder, and I leaned back into him and almost relaxed completely.

"Cannonball!" Superboy shouted just before he landed right in between the splash war. He created this crazy huge wave that would have swept me away if Kaldur hadn't had a tight grip on my waist.

M'gann was laughing as she ran away. Her yellow bikini top and swim shorts were an excellent contrast to her green skin and orange hair and eyes.

We swam some more until we were all really hungry. We got out and sat around a mini grill and grilled some hot dogs. As I handed Kitty hers, Robin speared another hot dog off of the grill from the red and white cooler he was sitting on. M'gann looked like she was enjoying hers while Superboy was looking at his suspiciously.

Kaldur was sitting on the blue and white cooler, just watching everyone and eating his hot dog. I elbowed him in the side and smiled playfully up at him as he grinned back at me. After we'd all eaten our fill and let the food settle, my friends decided to play a game called beach volleyball.

I sat on a towel next to Kitty who was sleeping. She was snoring peacefully even though the game had gotten pretty noisy. I just smiled while I watched my friends play. I didn't want to play this game, but it looked like they were having fun.

"Hey, Fera! Why don't you come and play? I need a breather." Robin yelled to me from where he was playing with Kaldur.

"Sure!" I yelled back, standing up and running over. I smiled at Robin as I passed him and walked over to Kaldur. "So, how do you play?"

"It's quite easy. You just have to make the ball hit the sand in their area to earn a point. There's 3 ways to hit the ball: bump, set, and spike. It's our serve, so why don't you serve?" He explained, handing me the ball.

"I'd love to." I said, getting into the position that I'd seen him use. I hit the ball over the net so hard that not even Superboy could get it. I jumped up in excitement and cheered, "Yes!"

Kaldur held up his hand for a high-five, and I obliged. After beach volleyball, we made a giant sand hill on Superboy while he was napping. I lifted Kitty up so that she could put a flag on top. I was still beaming when we all crowded back into Mt. Justice with everything we'd taken out to the beach.

Red Tornado was standing in the briefing room, and he told us, "Go get dressed for a mission. All of you. As soon as Kid Flash gets here, we will brief you and introduce you to your new teammate."

We all hurried to our rooms and got changed into our uniforms, except Kitty. We met back in the briefing room and waited for Wally. While we were waiting, Batman, Green Arrow, and an archer that I didn't know came in.

The boom tube whirred, and the computer spoke in its monotone voice. Wally ran in carrying a bunch of beach things, yelling, "Wall man is here! Let's get this party star-" He tripped and fell over his beach umbrella and stopped to look at everybody long enough to realize everyone was in uniform. "-ted."

Kaldur moved so that he could see the new archer as she spoke up. "Wall man, huh? I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

"Uh, who's this?" Wally asked, walking up to everyone and motioning towards the new girl.

"Artemis, your new teammate." She replied cockily.

"Kid Flash. Never heard of you." Wally said, smirking at her.

"Um, she's my new protégé." Green Arrow said, walking up to Artemis and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, what happened to your old one?" Wally stammered as the computer spoke up again.

We all turned to see Speedy in a new uniform. I cried out happily and tackled him in a hug. He'd been another one of my saviors almost 3 years ago. He hugged me back and whispered a greeting to me. Then, we both backed away from each other, and he then said to everyone, "Well, for starters, he doesn't go by the name of Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow."

Green Arrow stepped away from Artemis and said, "Roy, you look-"

"Replaceable." Red Arrow cut him off as he stalked over to everyone else.

I sighed and walked over to where Kaldur and Kitty were standing. I could feel waves of regret coming from Green Arrow and anger from Red Arrow. Kaldur placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as I picked up Kitty. Her familiar scent and the calm presence of Kaldur helped put me at ease.

"It's not like that. You told me you were going solo." Green Arrow explained, motioning with his hands.

"So, why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" Red Arrow questioned, his steely gaze filled with an unplaced anger.

Artemis walk right up to him and met his steely gaze with one of her own. "Yes, she can."

Wally took a step forward, swept his arms out wide, and asked, "Who are you?"

"She's my niece." "I'm his niece." Green Arrow and Artemis said at the same time.

'LIAR!' My mind screamed at me. I started bristling and noticeably growling.

"Calm." Kaldur whispered to me, placing both of his hands on my shoulders as he sent me calming waves.

I sighed and relaxed. I had quit growling and unconsciously leaned back into Kaldur. Kitty buried her face in my neck and started purring, unbothered by the mess of emotions spilling from everyone.

"Another niece?" Robin asked, giving his trademark cocky smirk.

"But she is not your replacement." Kaldur said to Red Arrow. He dropped his arms from my shoulders and started walking towards Red Arrow. "We have always wanted you on the team, and we have no quota on archers." He gave a small smiled to Red Arrow and spread out his arms a little bit.

"And if we did, you know who we'd pick." Wally spoke up, motioning with his hands.

"Whatever, Baywatch. I'm here to stay." Artemis said, walking a few steps forwards and putting her hands on her hips. She smirked as Red Arrow turned completely away from her and closed the space between him and Kaldur.

"You came to us for a reason." Kaldur prompted lightly.

"Yeah. A reason named Dr. Serling Roquette." Roy said seriously.

I glanced at Robin, and he looked like somebody had slapped him in the face. He pulled up a screen on his gauntlet and said, "Nano-robotics genius and the claytronics (sp.?) expert at Boyle University in Starr City. Vanished two weeks ago."

"Abducted two weeks ago." Roy corrected him. He continued, "By the League of Shadows."

Wally, Robin, and M'gann took a few steps forward as Robin exclaimed, "Whoa! You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"

"Hardcore," Wally said in awe as he bumped fists with Robin a few times.

"I already rescued her." Red Arrow stated, walking past Green Arrow and Artemis. Only one problem. The Shadows had already coerced her into creating the weapon. Doc calls it the FOG, comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nano-tech infiltrators capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel, flesh, all of it. But its true purpose isn't mere destruction; it's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from computer systems and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting-edge science and tech."

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power-broking. Yeah, sounds like the Shadows." Artemis said, practically rolling her eyes.

"Like you know anything about the Shadows." Wally sneered at her. She smirked knowingly at him as I walked over to him and punched him in the arm. He fell over and just laid there on the ground, and I motioned to everyone to continue.

"Who are you?!" Wally yelled at her, jumping up and staring defiantly at her. I sighed and was about to hit him upside the head when Red Arrow started talking again.

"Roquette's working on a virus to render the FOG inert." He explained.

"But if the Shadows know she can do that…" Robin began.

"They'll target her." Roy finished, turning back to the hologram screens. "Right now, she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab."

"You left her alone?" Green Arrow and I asked at the same time, both of us obviously shocked.

"She's safe enough right now." Red Arrow responded, giving me a small, understanding smile before continuing his lecture.

"Then, let's you and I keep her that way." Green Arrow suggested, taking two steps forward and motioning with his hands.

"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protégé?" Roy questioned, hate coming off of him like arrows.

Green Arrow was taking another step forward when Batman put his hand on his teammate's shoulder. They shared a silent look, and then Green Arrow sighed, "You brought this to the team. It's their mission. Which means it's hers now, too."

"Then, my job is done." Roy finished, stalking past everyone. I stopped him and hugged him tightly before letting him go over to the boom tube entrance.

"Recognized: Speedy." The computer stated emotionlessly.

"And that's Red Arrow. B06. Update." He said as he was transported.

As the computer's whirring died down, Wally and Artemis glared at each other. Artemis turned away. I could feel something good coming from her in almost nonexistent waves, but it's not an emotion I often feel.

"I'll need everyone but Queen Feralyn to go on this mission." Batman said simply.

"May I ask why I may not go on the mission?" I asked him politely.

"Who's going to take care of your sister while everyone's gone? Do you want her to stay here by herself with a bunch of dangerous toys, babe?" Wally questioned me as he put his arm around my shoulders. I set Kitty down, turned, and hugged him.

"You're right, Wally. And might I add that this sunblock is quite fetching." I laughed as I used his towel to wipe the sunscreen off of his nose. After it was sunblock free, I kissed his nose and stepped away giggling. He blushed and then sped to the Bioship with a wave good-bye.

I held Kitty's hand as M'gann squeezed us both. She waved good-bye as she ran to get the Bioship ready.

Superboy walked over and held out his hand, and I grabbed his forearm in a warrior's embrace. He looked a little surprised, but I could feel happiness coming from him. I guessed that he was not used to having friends. He dropped my arm and followed M'gann slowly.

Robin ran over, grabbed my arm and spun me around a couple of times before I caught him in a hug. He laughed and hugged me back.

"Stay whelmed." I whispered as I stepped back smiling.

He laughed the entire way to the hangar. Only Kaldur and Artemis were still in the briefing room. I walked over to Artemis and held out my hand. She gave me the warrior's embrace and smiled.

"Keep them safe." I said only loud enough for the two of us to hear.

"Sure, but why?" She asked, curiously.

"They need to be kept safe, and we new girls got to help each other out." I replied back, smiling kindly.

"You're new?" She questioned, looking surprised.

"Yeah, I just joined yesterday. My name is Queen Feralyn of Felina, and this is my sister, Princess Katriana of Felina. But you can call me Fera and my sister, Kitty. We'd also appreciate it if you didn't start the respect for the royals stuff." I explained as she tried to go into a formal bow. I picked up Kitty and smiled kindly. She smiled back and started walking to the Bioship, waving.

"Thanks, Fera." She called over her shoulder.

"Glad to help!" I called back, grinning. Only Kaldur was left in the briefing room, and as I walked over to him, I could feel conflicted emotions from him.

"Kitty, say good-bye and then head back to the room to start getting ready for bed." I told my little sister. She nodded obediently and turned to Kaldur.

"Good-bye, Kaldur. I hope I see you soon!" She said, giving Kaldur her adorable gap-toothed smile. I set her down, and she raced off to our room.

I turned to Kaldur and stared up into his light sea foam green eyes. I put my arms around Kaldur's neck and hugged him. He hugged me back with his arms around my middle. We stood there for a little while not talking, just hugging.

"Stay safe and come back in one piece." I whispered, pulling back enough to look up at his face.

"I will. I promise." He said softly, kissing my forehead. He hugged me tightly again and ran off to the Bioship without another look back at me.

I sighed softly, changed into my tiger form, and raced to my room. I changed back just before walking in so that I didn't scare Kitty. I heard her brushing her teeth in the bathroom, so I walked in and changed into my tiger print nightgown. I flopped down on our bed and just laid there staring up at the ceiling.

Kitty ran out of the bathroom and jumped onto me. She laughed as I tried to breath normally again, and she curled up into my side, quickly falling asleep.

I carefully got off of my bed and tiptoed into our bathroom. I brushed my teeth and my hair. I kept looking in the mirror at how long my hair was.

'I should probably get it cut sometime. I don't know who to ask though. Maybe one of them could take me to one of those salon places to get my hair cut.' I thought wearily as I trudged back to bed. I collapsed on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

In my dream, I was contributing to the mission. I tried to find Wally when he fell unconscious and into the pool. I warned against tracking the FOG, but Kaldur insisted. He makes it really hard to say no with his serious face and his darned logic. I fought the bad guys alongside everyone else. I was guarding the doctor with Kaldur when Cheshire shot the darts from the ceiling.

"Kaldur!" I screamed in the dream. I rushed at Cheshire, claws extended and teeth bared. I cut her up pretty badly before she nearly electrocuted me, and I fell on the ground next to Kaldur. The last thing I remember before losing consciousness was seeing the virus finish uploading.

I woke up feeling like I had been electrocuted, and my room smelled like burnt hair. I wrinkled my nose as the air cleared. I heard someone knocking softly on my door, so I finger-brushed my hair and called, "Come in!"

I jumped off the bed as Kaldur opened the door. He smiled at me and then gritted his teeth as I hugged him tightly.

"Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry! That jellyfish toxin must have hurt a lot!" I exclaimed, letting go of him and taking a step back.

He looked surprised and then asked, "How do you know about the jellyfish toxin?"

"I'd been dreaming about the mission. You'd gotten shot by darts laced with large amounts of jellyfish toxin by Cheshire. After you collapsed, I fought her and ripped her up pretty good, but she nearly electrocuted me. I fell unconscious. The last thing I remember is the virus getting full downloaded." I replied, scuffing my feet as I stared at them.

"So, it _was_ your presence I felt." He said. I stared at him because I was confused, and he explained. "I thought I felt your presence during the entire mission, like how we fought alongside each other. I even think that I felt your fur brush my skin a few times."

I just stared at him. I partially felt like he meant to say something else, but he held it back. I decided to read a few of his thoughts, so I slipped into his mind and suddenly a sentence flew by my head. I read it, and then I left his mind.

"You thought you felt my lips touch yours." I stated. Kaldur looked at me like I'd slapped him.

"Y-y-yes, I did, but I-" He stammered.

"You're not sure? Well, what I dreamed is that we never kissed. You didn't even hug me, so don't get your hopes up." I cut him off as I walked back into my room and shut the door. I waited until I heard him slowly leave before I went to go take my shower.

I let the hot, steamy water wash off any remaining emotions and thoughts left on me from Kaldur. I thought long and hard until the water went cold, and then I got out and wrapped a towel around myself.

I walked out of the bathroom and started, "Kitty, what do you-"

Kaldur was sitting on my bed next to Kitty who was showing him how she read her book. It was this giant novel that I swear I couldn't read in a month. It was all backwards, too. She never lets me read it, so I don't know what it's about or whether or not it has pictures.

Kaldur looked up at me, and we both blushed beet red. I grabbed the clothes that I'd lain out and ran back into the bathroom.

I felt a strange mixture of emotions from Kaldur, but I couldn't place them. I felt myself go into his mind, and one thought circled through his head.

'I do not know why, but she looked even more beautiful than usual.' He kept thinking.

I was still blushing bright red when I walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed of course. Kitty had left for the kitchen, so Kaldur still sat on my bed. I walked over to it and sat next to him, reclining back against the headboard.

"Hey." I greeted him softly, feeling a little bit of shame.

"Good morning," He said, putting his arm around my shoulders and squeezing.

After we just sat there for a few minutes not talking, I spoke up. "Can we just never speak of that thing that happened ever again?"

"Of course." He replied, squeezing my shoulders again. We sat there for I don't know how long before I relaxed enough to rest my head on Kaldur's shoulder.

I smelled food being made in the kitchen. I don't know what it was, but it smelled delicious.

"M'gann must be cooking." I commented as he dropped his arm from my shoulders and stood up. I jumped off the bed and walked to the door. He beat me there and held the door open for me.

"After you, m'lady." Kaldur said, bowing deeply.

"Thank you, kind sir." I said back, curtsying in my orange sundress.

We laughed, and he linked arms with me as he guided me to the kitchen. M'gann was making sausage links and some flat, round things that looked like fried batter.

"M'gann, what are you making?" Superboy asked from the table.

"They're what humans call pancakes. They sounded good, so I thought we'd try them." She replied, setting a plate already full of pancakes on the middle of the table. Everyone there quickly fell on the pile like starved dogs.

"Yum!" Kitty blurted through her mouthful of pancake.

"It's even better with maple syrup and butter on it." Kaldur told her, finishing his first pancake. She immediately loaded her pancakes with butter and syrup. She took a bite and pure bliss radiated off of her.

I took a bite of my pancake that was drowning in syrup and butter. I'm sure my face lit up like a light bulb.

I started scarfing down pancakes until there was none left. I still had room, so I grabbed some sausage and dipped it into the syrup. It's delicious, trust me.

After all of the dishes had been cleared, we sat around the table talking. Kaldur had made us both some tea, so I drank that while we all discussed the mission. M'gann was saying how even though I hadn't been there it had felt like I was.

Kaldur and I exchanged looks, and finally, he said, "Fera had been dreaming about our mission with complete accuracy. She even knew about the jellyfish toxins and Cheshire."

"I can astral project, which sends my consciousness to take a tangible but usually only faintly seeable form. I can send that form anywhere that I wish. I also can go into someone's dream on certain occasions." I explained.

"That was so not in the files." M'gann said after a few minutes of silent contemplation.

"Of course it wouldn't be in the files. My kingdom's safety is my top priority and what would happen to them if I were to be incapacitated? Having everything about me in your files means that my weaknesses would be shown, and people who wish to assassinate me would exploit those weaknesses." I said, sipping my tea.

We sat there in silence until Kitty asked, "Big sissy, what are we going to do today?"

I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her forehead. I replied, "I don't know. Any ideas?" I looked up at my teammates expectantly.

"Well, there's something the humans call a county fair going on. Why don't we go to that?" M'gann suggested.

"Sounds like fun, I guess." Superboy said, shrugging.

"Then, let's get ready and go!" I exclaimed, standing up. Kitty hopped onto my back, and we raced off to our room. Kitty pulled on a white sundress with a blue bow on the neck line and a blue ribbon around the waist line and through bottom hem and white buckle ballet flats.

I pulled on a pair of black capris and a tiger print tank top. I was pulling on my tiger's eye pendant when Superboy yelled at us from outside our door. "Kitty! Fera! Time to go!"

"Coming!" I yelled back. I pulled on my sunglasses that had tiger print on the sides, and I gave Kitty some sunblock that she rubbed on and pulled a blue floppy sunhat onto her head.

When we opened the door, Superboy was still standing there impatiently. Obviously, someone had taught him how to treat royals because he offered me his arm. I took it and held Kitty's hand in my free hand. He led us to the hangar where there were two motorcycles.

Kaldur was already on one with two helmets in his hands and one on his head. M'gann was waiting next to the other motorcycle. She had a helmet in her hand and was Caucasian, so she could blend in. She looked up when we walked in. Small waves of anger and jealousy started to come off of her.

I opened my mind just enough so that she could see one thought and that was it. I could feel her anger and jealousy subside, and they were replaced by relief and happiness.

'I am not trying to steal him from you. He's just being polite.' I thought at her as her mood changed. Then, I closed my mind up again.

Superboy let go of me and walked over to M'gann. She whispered something to him, and he pulled off his shirt, turned it inside out, and put it back on.

Kaldur noticed us and drove the bike over. He handed us our helmets and helped Kitty put hers on as I put on mine. After we had our helmets on, I lifted Kitty onto the bike and climbed on behind her, squeezing her between Kaldur and me. I wrapped my arms tightly around Kaldur as the hangar doors opened, and we raced out into the beautiful, sunny day.

We rode down the maze of streets and out to the edge of town. The county fair was a confusing amount of rides and vendors. There was a large wheel with little carts on it and tents everywhere. I could smell animals and their dung. There was also so much good food being sold, my mouth had started watering. I turned to Kaldur and laughed at the way he was wrinkling his nose.

"Butter can't drown you, Kaldur, so don't be such a clownfish." I told him, linking arms with him and smiling.

He smiled guiltily back down at me and then held out his hand for Kitty. She took it and laughed at some silly human child that was chasing his friend. Both of them had their faces painted like cats.

We followed M'gann as she started pulling Superboy through the crowds of humans. She stopped a vendor that was selling pink and blue cobweb lumps. The sign called it cotton candy, and it smelled like sugar. M'gann and I split the cost. We pulled off little chunks and ate them. It melted on my tongue and tasted just like cherries.

"Here you go, Kitty. Try some. It's really sweet." I said as I gave some to Kitty, and she smiled when it dissolved in her mouth.

Kaldur reached over my shoulder and pulled some off, popping it into his mouth. His surprised look was enough to make me burst out laughing, and he laughed with me.

"Try some. It's really good." M'gann said, trying to get Superboy to eat some of this cotton candy. She held it up in his face.

"I'm fine, Meghan. I don't want some." He said evenly, pushing the cotton candy out of his face.

"It's alright, Meghan. If he gets hungry, I'll buy him something to eat." I soothed. M'gann pouted and then took a big bite of cotton candy.

We began walking as we ate our sugary treat, and we found the source of the animal smell. Apparently, at county fairs, they judge animals on how good they are and give the kids who raised them a ribbon for how well they did.

Kitty saw some games that she wanted to play while we were leaving the animal stalls. She pulled M'gann and me over to them. I gave her enough money for a couple of games and watched as she played them with M'gann. Kaldur put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer, and Superboy looked as impatient as ever.

"Big sissy, look! I won! I won!" She cried out happily, jumping up and down.

"Yes, you did, little missy. Here's your prize." The girl who was running the game said, handing Kitty a large stuffed animal. We all got a good look at it and laughed. It was a tiger with green eyes and a little crown on its head.

We kept going until we found a strength game. You were supposed to use the large mallet to ring the bell. Superboy actually looked mildly excited about this game. I handed the money to the man running the game as Superboy picked up the mallet. He swung, and we heard the bell's distinctive ringing. The man looked a little surprised as he handed Superboy his prize. It was a stuffed Martian Man-hunter, which he immediately gave to M'gann.

"Thank you so much! I love it!" She exclaimed as she hugged Superboy tightly. He hugged her back quickly, a small smile lighting up his face.

It was getting dark out when we were getting ready to leave. Superboy and I were finishing a food called an elephant ear (which is really just a deep-fried tortilla covered with cinnamon and sugar, not an actual elephant's ear) when Kitty pointed at the wheel and yelled, "Let's ride that, big sissy!"

"The 'Ferris Wheel'? Sounds like fun." I said, squeezing her hand and smiling at her.

We got in line, and it was almost our turn to load onto the ride when M'gann asked, "Kitty, why don't you ride with us? Kaldur and Fera need to discuss some things about the, ah, trip from last night."

"Okay." Kitty replied reluctantly. She went over to stand by M'gann and Superboy. I entered her mind, and she was remembering her nightmare. She was standing outside my bedroom door back at our palace crying. Inside, I could hear my happy laughter mixed with Kaldur's deeper voice. I could see us lying on my bed, me in his arms. I left her mind and walked over to her. I leaned down and hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead gently.

"I will never leave you alone, my sweet Kitten. Do not fear. I give you my promise as queen of Felina that I will always be there for you, but we really do need to discuss the mission. It's not suitable for your ears, alright?" I whispered only loud enough for her and possibly Superboy to hear. She hugged me back as tightly as her skinny arms could and nodded.

When she finally let go of me, I stood up straight and walked back over to Kaldur. He smiled comfortingly at me, but his eyes told me he was a little bit confused.

"I'll explain another time, alright?" I whispered to him. He nodded and led me into our cart on the Ferris Wheel.

We watched the ground become even farther and farther away. We'd stop for every car though, so it wasn't a fast ride.

"What did you need to discuss with me, Kaldur?" I asked, turning to face him. It was pretty dark, but I could see perfectly with my cat night vision.

"We need to tell one of the advisors about your trick, so they know that even if they don't let you go on a trip that you can still help." He replied, being careful with how he worded it. For all we knew, we were bugged.

"Alright. When we get back, I'll tell them." I sighed.

We were about halfway up when Kaldur asked, "So, what's your home like?"

"It's always warm there. It's most beautiful in the spring and early summer when the flowers are beginning to bloom. My people are always curious and have made many startling discoveries in several fields of knowledge. When the fruit is ripe and good, we hold special festivals to celebrate our good harvest. What about yours?" I replied, smiling happily.

"My home is very heavily into studies of any kind. Our king is a very good leader and kind. Our queen is very beautiful and smart. She's one of the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet. Our people are very diverse, but we all live peacefully together." Kaldur told me, his face lighting up as he talked about his home.

"Our peoples do not sound so different to me." I said, smiling up at him. He smiled back down at me and pulled me into his arms. He rested his chin on top of my head as I relaxed into his chest.

He released me reluctantly. We sat side by side with his arm around my shoulders. I rested my head on his shoulder. We were almost at the top when fireworks started to be shot off.

"Look, Kaldur! Aren't they pretty?" I asked, looking up at him as we reached the top.

"They certainly are." He replied, smiling down at me. The space between our faces became less and less, and finally our lips touched just as the grand finale of the fireworks went off.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaldur kissed me, and I kissed back without hesitation. I was the first to pull back before we were halfway down. Kaldur smiled at me happily, but I could feel confusion and guilt along with the happiness.

I couldn't keep out of his mind, and it pulled me in. He was reliving a memory of kissing another girl. She was a very pretty, short-haired red-head with icy blue eyes and freckles. She was an Atlantean. She was definitely someone Kaldur cared deeply for.

I heard her name echoing everywhere in Kaldur's mind. It was like he had been reliving his kiss with this Tula girl when we kissed. Needless to say, I pulled out of his mind and physically moved away from him, wrapping my arms around myself as if I was cold.

"Fera? What's wrong?" Kaldur asked worriedly. He tried to move closer, but I kept moving away.

"Nothing, Kaldur. I'm fine." I responded, hugging my knees to my chest. My face became the all too familiar emotionless, unreadable mask I had found to be so useful with Kaldur.

"But-" He started just as the cart reached the ground.

"Oh, look. The ride's over." I cut him off as I stood up and got off the cart.

I waited for Kitty to get off of the cart behind ours. When she did, she raced over, and I picked her up. I carried her back to the bike and put our helmets on. Kaldur, M'gann, and Superboy followed closely behind, M'gann and Superboy obviously as confused as Kaldur.

Kaldur drove us back through town and into the hangar. He tried to talk to me when we got back, but Kitty and I just changed into our panther and tiger forms and ran to our room. (QM: Just as a note, Kitty can turn into a black panther. This is for you confuzzled people. ^.^) We changed into our pajamas and had lain down on the bed. Kitty was out like a light, but I laid there awake for about an hour.

In that hour, I heard Kaldur come to our door several times, but he always walked away without knocking. I was thinking constantly about this Tula girl. I didn't like her for some weird reason. She seemed like a nice person, and she was special to Kaldur. I should at least try to get to know her before I start to dislike her, but I knew that wouldn't stop me from disliking her. I fell asleep thinking about her and Kaldur.

I woke up the next morning to only Kitty's soft snoring. No scents of food being cooked, coffee being made, or even the sounds of my teammates stirring. I glanced at the clock, and it read 10:05 a.m. I decided to get up and sneak into the kitchen to make breakfast for my team.

I quietly got out of bed and slipped on a pair of red & orange plaid pajama pants. I left my white T-shirt on, but I pulled a bra on underneath. I did live with boys after all. I crept out my door and down the halls to the kitchen bare-footed.

I rummaged around in the fridge until I found the eggs. Superboy must have hidden them from M'gann again. I pulled out the bread and started making this breakfast food called French toast. Robin explained it to me, and Wally brought me some once. It was good, and I thought my teammates would enjoy it.

Superboy was the first to walk into the kitchen. He had on black sweat pants and that was it. He greeted me with a nod and sat down at the bar.

"Morning, Superboy. Want some coffee?" I asked, motioning to the pot. He nodded, and I carried the pot and a clean cup over to him. As I was pouring his coffee, M'gann floated into the kitchen looking like she needed the coffee more than Superboy.

M'gann sat down at the bar next to Superboy and propped her head up with her hands. A coffee mug and the pot floated over to her, and she poured the coffee into her cup and drank from it.

I put the coffee pot back onto the coffee maker and turned back to the French toast. It was golden brown, so I scooped it onto a plate and set it between M'gann and Superboy. I tossed them a couple clean plates and some silverware and went to make more French toast.

Kitty shuffled into the kitchen and plopped down in a chair at the table. She fell asleep with her head on her arms.

"Does no one want to wake up this morning?" M'gann asked drowsily, sipping her coffee.

"Guess not." I replied, glancing at Kitty over my shoulder.

I continued to make French toast as Kaldur walked into the kitchen yawning. I could tell it was him because he was still confused about last night. I tossed him a plate and silverware over my shoulder without even a glance at him. He fortunately caught both and sat down next to M'gann. He kept staring holes into my back as I flipped French toast. The only times I looked at him was to get the French toast plate to fill it up again and bring it back.

I forked some onto my plate and covered it in butter and syrup. I sat down next to Kitty and set the food in front of her. As she woke up and started eating, I filled up another plate with food and started eating at the table next to her.

Kaldur's unease was making it hard to swallow the delicious toast of the French. He honestly didn't know what he did to deserve this treatment, and I felt a little sorry for him. I decided to talk to him about it after breakfast.

When we'd all finished eating, M'gann offered, "I'll do the dishes."

None of us wanted to argue, so we all split. Kitty held my hand as we walked to the briefing room because I'd heard my name being called. The holographic screen came up, and on it was a video call from the top elder. We bowed with respect, but I knew that the call would not be pleasant.

"Your Highness, this is as outrage!" the elder squeaked. His voice had this horrible squeak whenever he was mad.

"What is an outrage, Lord Tufft?" I asked calmly, looking him right in the eye fearlessly.

"This joining your Young Justice League is the outrage! You're endangering yourself, and we cannot afford to lose you. I'd like to speak to the leader of the team and demand your release this instant! You are not staying there if I have a say in it." Lord Tufft fumed.

I glared at him, and he gulped. I said agitatedly, "It was my choice to join this team, and I'm very capable of taking care of myself. There's a whole team that has my back that can protect me if I become unable. I can call my team leader if you still wish to talk to him, but he'll tell you the same."

"Call him here. Now." He ordered.

I pressed a button on the control panel and said over the loud speakers, "Kaldur, your presence is needed in the briefing room immediately."

In minutes, I saw Kaldur running through the door. I walked over to him and whispered quietly, "Do not touch me at all during this or else I will have no choice but to leave. You may only show the affection of a friend. Refer to me with the respect a queen deserves. Be yourself as the calm, collected leader, and the skunk bag won't be able to say no."

We both walked back to the screen, and Kitty grabbed my hand tightly. She hated this elder in particular because he was a stickler for the old ways. He only grudgingly allowed some modern things like sundresses and this form of communication.

"Greetings, Lord Tufft. I am Kaldur'Ahm, leader of the Young Justice League. You wished to speak with me?" Kaldur greeted the elder.

"Yes. I demand that you release Queen Feralyn from any of her previous agreements to this group and let her return to her throne to govern her people. She does not belong in _your_ presence." Tufft said condescendingly. I unnoticeably bristled at this. Other queens have governed from afar before, but this elder seemed to think that the only way to rule is being on the throne 24/7.

Kaldur replied calmly, "Her Majesty chose to come here of her own free will. Do you wish to take her free will away?"

"N-n-no, young Atlantean. Of course not. Her Majesty chooses for herself what to do, but-" Tufft stammered, his face going white.

"Butts are for sitting, Elder. Do not give me this lecture that I'm too young to choose correctly on any matter. I'm quite capable of making good choices. You want me to be a better ruler? What better way than to be a follower? I am not the leader here, and I learn what being a follower is about and what they need." I cut him off, arguing. I gave him my best glare, and it helped that my eyes became feline.

"How rude of you, my Queen! I thought you had been raised to be more respectful!" Tufft screamed at me. I held my ground though.

"She has been respectful, but you seem to be the disrespectful one from my point of view. Queen Feralyn has been a valuable asset to the team, and we are lucky to have her with us." Batman said calmly, appearing out of nowhere.

I jumped on the inside, and Kaldur gave him a grateful smile. Batman walked over to behind both of us and put a hand on either of our shoulders.

Tufft humbled up a bit. He knew Batman's reputation, and he respected him for it. "I did not know that you were involved in the team, Batman. Her Highness had not mentioned that the adults were involved."

"You had not brought it up, but Black Canary, Batman, Red Tornado, and Green Arrow are actively involved in the team." I stated coldly.

"Young lady, I-" Tufft started, scolding.

"I refer to you with respect when addressing you, so I ask that you do the same to me, Lord Tufft." I cut him off, glaring disapprovingly.

"M-My Queen, I apologize for my impudence. Please forgive me." He stammered, bowing not-so-apologetically.

"You are forgiven this time, but in return, you must allow me to remain here and are not to try to get me to leave again." I bargained brutally. Tufft nodded hesitantly in agreement and closed the video call.

"Skunk bag!" Kitty yelled at the dark screen.

"He very much is." Batman agreed, ruffling Kitty's hair a little and giving the smallest smile possible.

"Wow, Bats. Never seen you this loosened up." I said, smiling. Kaldur looked at me like I'd lost it, but Batman just turned his smile towards me.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Kitty chanted. It's a wonder where she gets it. Batman nodded to her and turned back to me.

"How about we make a bet? If you beat me in hand to hand combat, I'll have Robin bring you and your sister to our house and show you around. If you lose, you have to cook for Robin and me for a week, 3 meals a day." He offered, walking to the training room. His smile had disappeared.

"Kaldur, be a dear and call the team. Deal, Bats." I agreed, following him to the training room with Kitty in tow.

Kaldur called the team and then raced into the training room to watch. Wally and Rob had shown up, and M'gann and Superboy carried two reclining chairs each to watch. Artemis followed with a folding chair and looked really eager.

"Go Fera!" Robin and Wally cheered.

"My money's on Batman." Artemis said. M'gann looked at her exasperatedly, but Superboy looked like he just wanted to see the fight.

Batman removed his utility belt, and I ripped my pants into shorts to fight better. We got into positions at opposite ends of the combat panels.

M'gann yelled excitedly, "Begin!"

Batman lunged at me, and I jumped out of the way. As I jumped away, Batman tried to land a hit on me, but I blocked it mid-air. I tossed him backwards and landed in a crouch. Batman flipped backwards and stalked around me, assessing the situation. I felt that he would expect an attack from the ground or air, but not in the middle. I trusted this feeling because my instincts are usually correct.

I launched myself at his stomach and knocked him to the ground. I pinned him there and growled satisfactorily, but he rolled us over and pinned me to floor. I may be strong, but I can't take on a full grown man in my human form.

"One...two..." M'gann said half-heartedly. She sounded sad that I was going to lose.

I kneed Batman as hard as I could where the sun doesn't shine. He toppled on the ground next to me. I stood up and brushed myself off. I met the misbelieving looks of my teammates.

"What? He never said we couldn't fight dirty." I smiled mischievously.

"I like this girl's style." Artemis said, walking over and putting her hand on my shoulder. She smiled proudly.

I laughed as Robin nearly tackled me from behind. He started chattering excitedly, but I only understood a few words.

"Slow down, Rob. You're going Wally speed." I laughed.

Batman finally managed to shakily get to his feet. He nodded respectively to me motioned Robin over to him. Robin walked over to him and let him lean on him for support. Batman walked over to me with Robin's help.

"Remember our deal?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and looking Batman straight in the eyes.

"Yes, and I will honor that deal. Robin, you're supposed to show Fera and Kitty around our home. No ifs, ands, or buts." Batman sighed.

"Even though I won, I'll do the cooking if you want." I offered, looking away. He must really need a cook if he wanted me to do it.

"Much appreciated." Batman smirked and had Robin help him to a boom tube, where he quickly went wherever Bats goes for the day.

I felt myself being lifted into the air. I looked down and saw that Superboy had put me on his shoulder, and everyone was following him whooping and cheering. We went into the kitchen where M'gann quickly poured glasses of sparkling apple juice for everyone. Superboy set me on the bar table and sat in the chair next to me with Robin on my other side.

Kitty was trying to get up there with me, but she didn't have the strength to pull herself up. Superboy was nice enough to lift her up onto the bar next me. M'gann handed each of us a glass.

"To Fera for her victory over Batman!" Wally shouted, raising his glass up.

"To Fera!" Everyone else but me cheered, raising their glasses also. We all drank the apple juice and ate M'gann's (somehow not burned) delicious apple cider donuts. We partied until it was time for the team to be debriefed. We all went to our rooms to put on our costumes.

Kitty had almost partied herself out, so I left her in my room with a book. I walked to the briefing room and shivered a little in my tiger fur single strap crop top and skirt. My hunter's boots made no sound as I finally made it. My team had beaten me there, and Batman looked a little surprised to see me there since I hadn't physically gone on the mission. He looked recovered from the injury I gave him earlier though.

When he'd finished with the boring debriefing, he asked, "Anything that should be added?"

I slowly raised my hand and said, "I have some information that the team and you need to know."

Batman nodded as I continued, "First off, did anyone besides Kaldur feel like I'd actually been on that mission?"

Every single one of my teammates raised their hands.

I continued again. "Well, I was there. I can astral project, which sends my body into an inactive state while I send my mental projection to wherever I want, which happened to be the mission you were sent on."

"What's your proof?" Artemis asked suspiciously.

"We fought Cheshire, and Kaldur nearly died from jellyfish toxin. That enough proof?"

"You never mentioned jellyfish toxin in the debriefing, Kaldur." Batman stated.

"Fera had asked me the morning after the mission about the jellyfish toxin and explained astral projecting to me. I think that it will be a useful trait to have on our side." Kaldur said, glancing at me. Even though I appreciated the support, I wasn't about to let him go for messing with my head.

I purposefully kept my eyes on Batman, trying to read his expression. Finally, he spoke, "Thank you for informing us of this. We will definitely need that power on our side for some missions."

"There's only one problem. When I astral project, I revert into a sort of sleep-like state. My mental barriers will remain up without my conscious thought of them, but my body can still be hurt." I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully.

"One of the team will need to guard you while you're astral projecting then. Superboy, you can take that job if Kaldur doesn't need you elsewhere." Batman decided, staring at every member of the team. "Dismissed."

We all shuffled out of there and into our separate rooms. Kitty was listening to an audio book and trying to follow along in the book. She may have been four, but she was a very good reader. She was about a fourth grade level reader.

I changed back into the sweats I had had on, and I checked the calendar and started beaming excitedly. I called happily, "Kitty! Tomorrow is the Harvest Festival!"

Kitty dropped her book and bounced up excitedly. "I love the Harvest Festival!"

"Hey, we should invite everyone to the festival." I suggested, sitting on the bed in front of her.

"Let's go!" She exclaimed, jumping on my back. I raced down to the living room.

We walked over to the intercom, and she pressed the button and said, "Team, to the living room pretty please!"

In moments, Wally was lounging on a chair. "What's up?"

"Wait for the team, Wally." I smiled excitedly.

In a few minutes, the rest of the team had gathered in the living room. They sat around Kitty and I on the various chairs and couches around us.

"What's up, Fera?" Robin asked curiously.

I smiled at everyone and replied, "Kitty and I want to invite you all to take part in the Harvest Festival. It's a festival that Felina is hosting tomorrow."

"Sounds like fun! What do you do? What do you wear?" M'gann questioned.

"Everyone will sing, dance, and feast, and some people use it as a special date opportunity." I answered. I could feel Kaldur's calm pale green eyes burning holes into the side of my head, but I refused to look.

"Feast? Count me in!" Wally exclaimed, jumping up and pumping his fist in the air.

"I want to go!" M'gann said.

"Me too." Artemis agreed.

"Will we be staying the night there?" Robin asked.

"If you want, we can pack and go today, spend a couple nights there, and come back in two days." I offered.

"Sounds like a plan." Robin decided.

"I shall come, too." Kaldur said, smiling.

Kitty turned to Superboy and smiled angelically up at him. "Are you coming, Superboy?"

He took one look at Kitty and melted. "Sure. I'll come."

"Yay!" Kitty cheered, jumping on Superboy, who started tossing her up in the air and catching her. She laughed happily, and I smiled.

'That's what Father did with me and would have done with her.' I thought sadly, watching Superboy play with Kitty. He'd started swinging her around carefully.

Robin noticed my sad expression and hugged me tightly. It comforted me to know that I still have loved ones here with me.

"Again, what do you wear?" M'gann prompted.

"I can arrange for festival attire for you. Why don't you all invite your mentors too?" I suggested. They all nodded in agreement. I turned to Artemis and added, "Could you invite Red Arrow? I have a feeling that you'll see him soon."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously but shrugged it off. I turned back to everyone else and smiled. "Are there any other questions?"

Wally raised his hand slowly and asked, "What's for dinner tonight?"

Everyone laughed and continued chatting excitedly about the festival. Robin and Wally had been to it before, but they most likely wouldn't remember much of it since they both had to retire early because of the humidity.

"Fera, what did you mean by a special date opportunity?" M'gann asked. She was squeezing her hands together slightly in a nervous way.

"I meant that the festival is quite romantic after the sun goes down, and many boys will ask girls to go with them to dance, eat together, or just take walks down the lantern paths. The girls are supposed to stay close to their fathers and can only be asked out with the fathers' permission. It's kind of like the Star Festival in India." I explained.

"I know about that. The single girls are supposed to take lanterns and let them either burn them or float them away, depending on where they feel their soul mate is." Robin said.

"Yes, but we don't do that. We do, however, write wishes on a piece of paper and tie it to a tree branch." I replied.

"Your culture seems very diverse." Kaldur commented kindly.

"We are quite diverse. We are actually more of a mix of traditional Indian, Japanese, and Egyptian cultures." I said, giving Kaldur a brief but kind smile. He gave me a small, relieved smile back.

"When are we leaving?" Superboy asked while Kitty walked on his shoulders gracefully.

"I was hoping we could leave tonight if you all ran home and got packed. We could meet back here at, say, seven o'clock?" I replied, smiling up at Kitty.

"We can take the Bioship. It'll be the quickest way." M'gann suggested. I nodded in agreement.

Everyone left to pack after that. Kitty grabbed her baby pink princess gown, and I helped her put it on. Then, I braided her long black hair with a pink ribbon and tied it with another ribbon. She started skipping around and looking for her matching ribbon shoes while I was searching my closet for my dresses.

Finally, I found one of my dresses in the very back, farthest corner of the closet. It was plum purple and strapless, easily falling an inch or two below my feet. I went into the bathroom and changed into the dress. I tied my orange and black striped hair up into a high ponytail with a plum ribbon. I don't usually wear shoes at home, so I just went barefoot.

Kitty had her shoes all laced up, so we headed to the hangar hand in hand. When we got there, Wally was already there, tapping his foot impatiently and checking his wristwatch.

"Where is everyone? They're taking too long." He whined, not noticing us.

"It's not 7 o'clock yet, Wally." I laughed.

Wally finally noticed us and gave us both the once-over. With the patented "Wally smirk" on his face, he casually strolled over and put an arm around my shoulders. He flirted shamelessly, "Looking good, babe, as usual."

I grabbed his wrist and removed his arm from my shoulders. "Wally, quit flirting with everything in a skirt and find a good girl that likes you back."

M'gann walked in just then with a small carry-on bag. Wally smiled and winked at me, and then he went over and flirted with her.

"You're hopeless." I sighed as Superboy walked in with a duffel bag. I waved to him politely and stood there waiting for everyone to get there. Superboy walked over to me and just stood there with his arms crossed and his unreadable face.

Pretty soon, Kaldur and Robin strolled in with a suitcase each. Robin was carrying an additional duffel bag. They brought over their stuff and set it down.

"Why don't we all wait for Artemis on the Bioship? That way we don't have to stand for much longer." M'gann suggested. With that, everyone filed onto the Bioship, bags in hand. Kitty and I took a window seat. Kitty sat on my lap and played with the hem of her dress.

At exactly 7 o'clock, Artemis climbed onto the Bioship with Roy right behind her. They looked like they'd had a fight recently. Roy sat in the chair next to me and glared annoyed out the window. I giggled at his childishness.

Quickly, the Bioship flew out of the hangar into the evening sky, the sun not even close to the horizon. Once the ship had balanced its self out, I turned my chair to face everyone. I asked, "Whose mentors are coming?"

"Batman said that he appreciates the offer but has other things planned. I think he just wants me out of the house for a little while." Robin replied, sighing.

"Flash, Martian Man-hunter, Green Arrow, and Aquaman are coming, but they'll meet us there. Black Canary, Superman, and Red Tornado are coming, too." Kaldur added. He seemed a little uneasy, which is not a good thing; Kaldur's usually the calm, in-control leader.

"Hey, Fera, where are we going to sleep?" Roy asked.

"In one of the rooms in the west wing which is where Kitty's and my rooms are." I replied.

"Wait, wait, and wait. So, we each get one of those huge rooms all to ourselves?" Wally asked. I nodded, and he jumped up in triumph. "Sweet! I'm never leaving!"

"What kind of food will they serve?" Superboy questioned.

We continued chatting about the festival until we touched down at the palace. Kitty bounced off my lap and skipped off of the Bioship, forgetting to act as royalty should. I smiled and motioned for everyone to follow me before leading the off of the Bioship. My smile quickly faded when I saw who was there to greet us and held Kitty roughly by her arm, scolding her harshly.

"Lord Tufft, you will get your grubby hands off of my sister this instant." I ordered sharply, narrowing my eyes coldly at the elder.

He slowly turned to me and released Kitty hesitantly. She ran over to me crying and hugged me with her face in the skirt of my dress. I stroked her hair soothingly and then glared up at the elder.

"Your Majesty, are you barefoot?! You must wear shoes; that's the rule! Put them on at once!" Tufft exclaimed, stalking closer as if he was threatening me.

"I am barefoot like most of my people." I replied calmly, an annoyed tone creeping into my voice.

"And what are these children doing here?" He demanded, scowling when he noticed my friends.

"I invited my friends and their mentors to the Harvest Festival." I said coldly, fisting my hands.

"Young lady, you'd better not be expecting to leave with them after this is over! If you do, I will have you removed-" Tufft began just as the Justice League touched down. The elder gulped and backed up quickly.

"Is there a problem here?" Black Canary prompted, quickly assessing the situation.

"N-No! N-No problem at all!" He stammered, bowing graciously, "W-welcome to Felina, e-esteemed Justice L-League."

I calmly walked up to Tufft and slapped him. He was so shocked that he sat on the ground just holding his cheek where I slapped him. I growled, "The elders are there to advise the throne holder. You are neither my father nor my nursemaid, so you had better learn your place, Lord Tufft."

He gaped up at me like a fish, but he started to recover and looked like he was going to go into a tirade. Kaldur walked up behind me and placed a calming hand on my shoulder.

I laughed, "You believe that you can remove me from the throne, do you not? You are sorely mistaken, elder. You are over-stepping your authority, just as you did when my parents were alive. However, _I _can have _you _removed from your position on the Council of Elders."

Tufft stared at me, shocked. I never yelled at anyone like this since I tried to come off as a fair and just queen, but this man had pushed me too far too many times. Not just about the team, but he undermined my authority at every chance he got. I'd release a man from jail for not paying taxes because he was caring for a sickly family, and Tufft would be there threatening the death sentence to the poor man for trying to escape.

"I'd advise to choose your next words carefully, mister. She looks like she's about to slice your throat into ribbons." Wally said, crossing his arms over his chest. My team and the Justice League members looked about ready to defend me if necessary.

Tufft just scurried off as quickly as his little legs could carry him. I sighed and ordered some of the maids to show the adults to their rooms while I showed my teammates to theirs. After everyone was settled in, Kitty and I went to our own rooms. I changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth before lying down in bed. I stared up at the high ceiling and felt around the king sized bed for Kitty's hand, but I remembered that this is my own room that I don't share. I sighed and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"It's time to get ready, Your Majesty." A maid informed me, drawing the curtains back and letting the early morning light fall onto my face. I blinked open my eyes groggily, and she bowed and left.

I got up and wrapped my robe around myself as Artemis and M'gann burst into my room, not bothering to knock. They looked unkempt to say the least. Artemis had serious bed head, and M'gann was holding a robe over her shoulders like a cape.

"What is going on, and why are they having us wake up this early?" Artemis demanded, flopping over onto my bed.

"We get ready this early. The boys actually were up an hour ago." I explained, sitting in the waiting area of my room. The maids had been kind enough to put out some tea and a light breakfast.

M'gann sat down across from me and helped herself to some tea and a strawberry Danish. Artemis sat up and slowly made her way over to us, taking some food.

"Prepare yourselves, ladies. This is going to get hectic." I warned them, sipping my tea. They looked back at me a little frightened.

Kitty raced in in her panther form, jumping onto my lap with her ears laid flat. She looked spooked. A group of maids rushed in carrying fabric, canisters, boxes, various utensils, and other things. They immediately pulled all of us behind different curtains.

The maids dressing me practically ripped off my pajamas and pushed me into a tub, vigorously scrubbing me from head to toe. After patting me dry with a towel, I put on underwear, and they pulled a dress over my head.

After I was all dressed, the maids gave me a quick manicure while tsking at what horrible state my hands were in. I can't help that crime fighting takes a toll on the unnecessary task of nail painting.

The women swiped a little make-up on me and finally decided that I'm presentable. They removed my curtains and left, taking their assorted beauty products with them. Artemis and M'gann were sitting on the couch again, waiting patiently. They seemed a little disturbed by the maids' behavior.

I wore a teal strapless gown with a draped skirt. The top was lightly embroidered with a butterfly and flower pattern. I also had a purple see-through wrap and purple strappy sandals. My hair was pulled into a braided circlet that fell into a normal braid.

M'gann was dressed in a magenta dress that had a heart-shaped top and a shimmery knee-length skirt embroidered with roses. She also had neutral-colored flats and elbow-length gloves. Her orange hair was pulled up into a chicly messy bun.

Artemis wore a light pink heart top with a pleated light green ankle-length skirt that was slit up the right side, revealing her legs. She also wore green elbow-length, fingerless gloves and pink strappy sandals. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun with curled strands of hair falling out of it.

"You both look beautiful." I complimented them, smiling. They smiled back nervously.

"Thank you, Fera. You too. Does that happen at every festival?" M'gann asked cautiously.

I nodded. "It happens for me at every single important event. You grow used to it after a while. Just imagine, Kitty and I have lived through that our entire lives."

"I have newfound respect for you." Artemis said seriously.

"U-um, B-Big S-Sissy? Will you help me tie my bows?" Kitty called, still behind her curtain.

"Sure, sweetheart." I answered, walking behind the curtain. I helped her tie the bows on her straps and then led her into the room.

"Aw! You look so cute, Kitty!" M'gann exclaimed, glomping my little sister. Kitty pulled herself out of M'gann's death hug and smoothed her skirt.

Kitty wore a sky blue top with ribbon spaghetti straps, a dark blue skirt with a sky blue underneath, and dark blue sandals that had little bows on the straps. Her black hair was held up into two high pigtails.

A butler opened the door and told me, "My Queen, it's time."

"I shall be out in a moment. Thank you." I said. He nodded and shut the door. I turned back to my friends. "Time to go. I give a short speech and then we eat. Eat when I eat, and sit when I sit. That's all you have to know."

They nodded, and I led them out into the hall. The preparations took longer than expected and it was almost eleven. We ran into the boys on our way. They were all dressed in simple but beautifully embroidered tunics and slacks. Kaldur wore a midnight blue tunic. Wally, an olive green. Robin, crimson. Superboy, (surprisingly) white. They all seemed to fit well.

"Come." I beckoned, smiling and leading them out to a very long table. "Stand until I sit."

The boys nodded, and all of my friends claimed seats along the table with their mentors. I stood at the head of the table and faced the crowds gathered at the tables below ours. My people looked up at me expectantly and happily.

I cleared my throat and began loudly, "My people, we are here again to celebrate another successful harvest."

I waited for the cheers to subside before continuing. "Our Harvest Festival is not just about being thankful for our harvest. It is also for giving thanks for our families, our friends, and all of the wonderful people in our lives. All of the little blessings we have received throughout our lives."

I paused to compose myself. "Now, my Felina, let us feast and enjoy this delicious bounty!"

I was met with cheers as I sat down, everyone following suit. I heaped food onto my plate and dug in, but I remained somewhat refined in doing so. As always, a queen must act like a properly raised lady who acts accordingly and has been taught proper etiquette.

Wally wasn't even trying to restrain himself and was wolfing down food left and right. Artemis was yelling at him for it while Green Arrow and Flash laughed at them. I giggled at them and continued looking over the table.

Superboy picked at his food, obviously nervous about the presence of Superman. I wish I could send him some reassurance, but I came up blank. Luckily, it looked like M'gann was sending him telepathic reassurances.

Robin seemed to be trying to find satellite connection or some other techie thing. Black Canary was telling him to put the gadgets away.

"So, there's no room for me at the table this year?" A friendly voice joked from beside me. I turned and faced Kai, my childhood friend.

He brushed his dark-tipped honey hair out of his face and leaned on the arm of my chair, smiling at me. His brown eyes were lit up with the excitement from the festival.

"Have no fear. There is always room for a friend at my table." I smiled at him kindly and motioned for him to sit in the seat I'd left open for him. Even if there's an open seat, Kai won't sit down until invited to do so.

"Everyone, this is my friend, Kai. Play nice." I said, only loud enough for our table to hear.

"It's nice to meet you." Kaldur, who was sitting right next to him, held out his hand and smiled kindly. The smile that made my stomach tie itself in knots.

Kai, whose abilities were purely physical (thank goodness), shook his hand warmly and replied, "It's nice to meet you, too."

He turned to me still grinning and pulled a beautiful tiger lily from behind his back, handing it to me. I let out a little gasp of surprise and took it delicately. I smelled the heady scent inhaling deeply and smiled happily.

"Happy Harvest Festival," Kai said, smiling sweetly.

I looked up at him with a light blush spreading across my face. I said quietly, "You didn't have to, Kai. This was so sweet."

"But I wanted to. So, I did." Kai laughed lightheartedly.

A boy giving a gift to a girl during the Harvest Festival was a way of showing his undying love for her, but why was Kai giving me this? I knew Kai, and he would never give a Harvest Festival gift to pronounce his love. He hated traditional stuff. On the other hand, he's a shameless flirt.

"So, I'm guessing Kyra didn't turn out as well as you had hoped?" I asked, propping my elbow on the table and resting my chin on my hand. Kyra was his latest flame, who he said was his perfect match. Just like every other girl he had set his sights on.

Kai scratched the back of his head nervously, "I guess it didn't go so well. Does getting pushed into the courtyard fountains count as not going well?"

I laughed into my hand, earning looks from a couple of my friends who couldn't hear our conversation. Was it that weird for me to be laughing and talking with a guy? I did it all the time back home at the cave.

The feast continued like that and pretty soon it was over, the sun close to setting. Kaldur turned to me and began, "Queen Feralyn, would you like to-"

"Fera, will you walk with me down the paths?" Kai interrupted rudely. For a guy, he seemed pretty knowledgeable that Kaldur had taken a liking to me (for the wrong reasons, unbeknownst to him).

"I accept your invitation, Kai." I answered politely, smiling. I turned to Kaldur. "I will probably have some time later if you want."

Kaldur smiled, "I'd like that very much, Your Majesty."

"I'll meet you at the fountain over there half an hour before sundown." I said, pointing to the fountain in front of the palace's front door.

He nodded, and I took Kai's arm which he offered courteously. We strolled away down the paths by lantern light. The shady jungle was starting to cool down after a humid day.

"Okay, Kai. Who put you up to this?" I demanded, sitting down next to him at one of the fountains.

"I don't know what you mean, Fera." He said, smiling and playing dumb.

"Your uncle perhaps? Lord Tufft just doesn't want me to leave. He thinks that if I find myself a mate here then I won't leave, right?" I continued, probing his mind.

"As sharp as ever, I see. Well, yes, Uncle doesn't want you to leave. He asked me to try to convince you, but I know that won't work out. I can tell that you like the Atlantean." He said softly, leaning back.

I looked at the ground. "It's complicated. Very complicated."

He looked over at me and smiled gently. "Hey, now. I'm sure it'll work itself out. I could tell he likes you back."

Kai put an arm around my shoulders, and I rested my head on his shoulder. After a few minutes, I playfully slugged his arm, making him fall into the fountain.

"Ow! What was that for?" He demanded, holding his arm.

I laughed, "You're such a shameless flirt, Mister Lion."

"And you're a big jerk, Miss Tiger." He growled playfully. He crossed his arms and pouted at the ground.

I rolled my eyes at him and offered him a hand. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the fountain, too.

"Jerk!" I exclaimed, splashing him. Kai laughed and splashed me back.

By the time we got out of the fountain, we were soaked and the sun was setting. Kai led me back down the paths to the palace. He waved good-bye and ran off, calling over his shoulder, "It'll all turn out okay. I promise!"

I waved back and then walked inside to change into dry clothes. Since the festival was almost over, I deemed it okay to put on pants. I pulled on loose-fitting black pants that went to my ankles and an off the shoulders lavender top. I slipped on a pair of black boots and ran out to the fountain where Kaldur was already waiting.

"Hey. Sorry I took so long, but I pushed Kai into a fountain, and he pulled me in as revenge. I was soaked." I apologized, out of breath from running.

"It's quite alright. I understand." Kaldur said, smiling gently.

I smiled back. "Where would you like to go first?"

"If I may, I would like to see you favorite places here." He replied.

"Then, follow me." I grabbed his hand and ran off onto one of the paths until it broke into padded earth. Then, I pulled Kaldur off of the path into the jungle until we came to a very large tree in the middle of a pool strung with flowers, lanterns, and pieces of paper.

I turned to him and explained, smiling, "This is the Wishing Tree. Every year, during the Harvest Festival, you may write your wish on a piece of paper and tie it to the tree. They say that your wish will come true after that, but you must never tell your wish to anyone for it to come true."

"I would like to try it." Kaldur said, nodding. I handed him a piece of paper, and he started writing.

I turned to my own piece of paper and wrote my wish. After reading it and rereading it, I decided it was acceptable.

'Please let things come out right with Kaldur.' I repeated in my head, over and over, as I leaped up and swung myself from the tree branches. I climbed up to the top and tied my wish to the highest tree branch.

"Fera! Where are you?" Kaldur called up from the bottom of the tree.

I swung back down and looked at him upside down. "I climbed to the top like I do every year."

He nodded in understanding and stepped back to let me drop to the ground. He picked a few leaves out of my hair and laughed amusedly.

I pulled out a lantern from the bin and lit it, smiling. "Come here, and we can send it off together."

"That sounds nice." Kaldur said, coming over. We both kneeled down and held the lantern before sending it off onto the pool.

Kaldur smiled down at me as I smiled back, the lanterns providing the only light. He leaned in, our eyes closing. Just before Kaldur kissed me, I remembered Tula, the Atlantean girl that he had left behind. I pushed him away and let my bangs cover my eyes.

"Fera, what's-" He began worriedly.

I interrupted, standing up and turning away, "Kaldur, you don't see me when you're with me. You see another."

He opened his mouth, shut it, and opened it again. He couldn't seem to figure out what to say.

I stepped away from him and held my arms. Tears had started to flow down my face. I turned back to him with a sad smile, "Tula's a lucky girl, Kaldur. I hope that you're both very happy with each other."

I choked on my tears and ran off, wiping my eyes. Kaldur had jumped up and was desperately trying to catch up, calling for me to wait and come back. I didn't stop running until I reached my room. I collapsed on my bed and sobbed almost silently into my pillow.

I hadn't realized that I had fallen asleep until I woke up the next morning with warm sunshine hitting my face. I slowly sat up and stretched, remembering everything that happened yesterday.

"Fera! You up?" Wally yelled, banging on my door.

"I am now! What do you want?" I yelled back, getting out of bed and going over to my closet for clothes.

"We wanted to know if you could give the team a tour. The League had to leave on a mission, so it's just us." Robin explained, his voice slightly muffled by the door.

"Just let me get dressed." I told them, pulling on a pair of ripped jean shorts and a sky blue T-shirt. I did my bathroom things including pulling my hair into a ponytail and pulled on pair of black hiking boots before coming out into the hallway.

"Where are we going first?" M'gann asked excitedly. She seemed to have had a lot of fun yesterday, same as the rest of my team.

Kitty hugged me and held my hand as I thought carefully. I honestly didn't have much of an idea of where to show them.

"How about first the palace grounds and then some of my old haunts?" I suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement.

I lead the way out of the palace and around the gardens and many of the places that I used to frequent when I was growing up. I spent the entire day telling my friends all of the stories that came with every place. I kept myself occupied with being a good guide, trying to not look at Kaldur or answer his questions directly.

We returned to the palace at dinnertime, ate, and then packed for the trip home. Kitty and I waited on the Bioship until each of our friends got on. Wally had an additional bag for all of the souvenirs that he had gotten, but other than that everyone had only their festival clothes to add to their bags.

The trip home was full of chattering, and even Superboy was saying more than 5 word sentences. They all seemed cheery and excited, and I smiled warmly at them.

Once we returned home, we split up to unpack and rest up. Roy went off to do whatever he does nowadays.


	5. Chapter 5

I spent most of my time during those days trying to avoid Kaldur or at least not be alone with him. We shared polite words a few times, but I always found an excuse to leave before he tried to discuss what happened between us.

On August 19, we all decided we could use some combat training. First up were Kaldur and Superboy. A good match, in my opinion.

I stood on the sidelines, watching with Wally, M'gann, and Artemis. Kaldur smirked and went in for a hit, starting the spar.

Artemis turned to M'gann and said, "Kaldur's, uh, nice, don't ya think? Handsome, commanding… You should totally ask him out."

I snorted, trying to hold back my laughter. Obviously, Artemis wanted M'gann out of her way to date Superboy. She also can't seem to take a hint.

"He's like a big brother to me. But you know who would make the cutest couple? You and Wally." M'gann said, looking over at Wally who was eating in a very unappealing manner. She turned back to Artemis and continued, "You're so full of passion, and he's so full of, uh, um…"

"Himself?" I offered, smiling.

"It?" Artemis offered. We all burst into good-natured laughter.

We turned back to the match to see Superboy flip Kaldur onto his back. Superboy swiped his hands and panted, "Black Canary taught me that."

Red Tornado came down just as Superboy was helping Kaldur to his feet. Wally raced over to intercept him, demanding, "Do you have a mission for us?"

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." The android replied.

"We know, but Bats and Rob went MIA. They went on some solo mission." I explained, joining Wally and folding my arms behind my back.

"Yeah, but you're going somewhere, right? Hot date? Or a mission?" Wally prompted.

"If we can be of help." Kaldur added.

Tornado turned around and showed us a picture of a man and some stats. "This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is 106 years old."

"Guy doesn't look a day over 90." Wally whispered to me.

"And he has been missing for 23 days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors' Justice League." Red Tornado continued.

"Of course! He's Doctor Fate, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. I quite admire him." I exclaimed, smiling.

"More like Doctor Fake. Guy knows a little advanced science and 'Dumbledore's' it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes." Wally said to Artemis, not so quietly.

"Wally, just because you believe science explains everything doesn't mean it actually does." I snapped at him. He's never believed in magic, but I've come to believe otherwise. I'm from a race of cat people, there's not much I won't believe.

"Kent may simply be on one of his walk-a-bouts, but he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, the source of Doctor's mystic might. And it is unwise to leave such power unguarded." Red Tornado informed us.

"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars. I would be honored to help find him." M'gann said endearingly.

Wally's hand shot right up. "Me, too! _So_ honored, I can barely stand it. Magic rocks."

"Wally, you are the worst liar I have ever met." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Artemis was already doing the same.

"Take this. It is the key to the Tower of Fate." Tornado held out the key as Kaldur took it.

"What are the chances that we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked M'gann.

"Um, your insatiable desire to impress a girl that's not even interested in you?" I muttered, making Artemis and Superboy chuckle.

We headed to the Bioship, leaving Kitty asleep with Black Canary coming in later to check on her. As we flew to the coordinates we'd received, Artemis and I decided to give Wally a tough time.

"So, Wally, when did you first realize your _honest affinity _for sorcery?" Artemis asked.

"Well, I don't like to brag, but, uh, before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself." Wally replied, crossing his arms behind his head and looking over at M'gann.

"Oh? Do pigs fly now?" I questioned teasingly.

"What? Wait a minute. Hey!" Wally exclaimed, jumping up. He forgot that he was strapped in and fell back into his seat.

We landed and scanned the spot where the tower is supposed to be. Wally ran a perimeter and came back.

"Nothing. This isn't simple camouflage." He informed us, stopping in front of Artemis.

"So, what do you think? Adaptive micro-opto electronics combined with space shifting?" Artemis questioned.

"Absolutely. Not." Wally added quickly.

I left them to argue and started sniffing around. "Kaldur, toss me the key."

He obliged, and I easily caught the key and continued sniffing. I caught a whiff of something dark and sinister. I couldn't pinpoint the smell though. It was all around us, yet not there at the same time.

"Stay on your toes. There's something watching us." I whispered to my teammates. I raised my voice back to normal level. "If the tower was hidden by that science stuff, I'd be able to smell it. It's hidden by magic."

I turned back to the open field and heard a very slight, very small sound. I pushed the key forward and turned the lock. I said triumphantly, "Gotcha!"

The entire tower appeared in front of us, just like magic. Everyone gaped up at it; it was huge!

"What are you all waiting for? Let's go!" I opened the door and led everyone inside. The door slammed shut behind us.

"Uh, where'd the door go?" Superboy asked nervously. We found ourselves in a small door-less, windowless room.

A projection of Kent Nelson appeared in front of us. It spoke, "Greetings. You have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."

Kaldur opened his mouth to speak, but Wally cut him off. "We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate."

Leaping at him, I tried to clamp my hand over Wally's mouth, but it was too late. The damage had been done. The floor rumbled, and we started falling.

"Wally, you idiot!" I screamed, shifting into my half-tiger form and desperately clawing the wall.

I clung to it and grabbed Kaldur as he fell passed me. M'gann started flying and grabbed Wally while Artemis used a grappling hook. Superboy wasn't so lucky; he burned his shoes off.

"Having trouble…maintaining altitude…I'm so hot…" M'gann gasped, wiping her forehead.

"You certainly are." Wally agreed, smirking.

"Wally!" Artemis and I yelled at him.

"Hey! Inches above sizzling death. I'm entitled to speak my mind." Wally yelled back.

"My physiology and M'gann's are susceptible to extreme heat. We must climb out quickly." Kaldur said, wiping sweat from his own forehead.

"Almost feels like home to me, except this is a dry heat." I said, trying to lighten the mood just a teeny bit.

"Hello, Meghan! We never truly answered the question." M'gann panted.

"Wally, keep your mouth shut!" I snapped. I took a deep breath and called out, "We were sent by Red Tornado to make sure that Mr. Nelson and the Helmet of Fate were safe."

A floor slid out and covered the lava. We all hopped down onto it, some of us less gracefully than others.

"Why couldn't you have done that sooner?" Superboy asked.

I shrugged and pounced on Wally, still in my half-tiger form. I hoisted him up by his collar as Artemis stalked over.

"You're little impress-Meghan-at-all-costs game nearly got us all barbecued." She stated angrily, glaring up at him.

"When did this become my fault?" He demanded.

"When you decided to lie to M'gann and the tower. Quit the charades and tell her the truth, Mr. 'True Believer'." I growled, turning around and dropping him harshly in front of M'gann.

"Wally, you don't believe?" M'gann prompted.

"Fine. Fine! I lied about believing in magic. But magic is the real lie. A major load." Wally scowled, crossing his arms.

"Wally, I studied for a year at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis. The mystic art created the skin icons that power my water bearers." Kaldur said, still kneeling on the ground.

"Dude, have you ever heard of bioelectricity? Hey, in primitive cultures, fire was once considered magical, too. Today, it's all just a bunch of tricks." Wally argued.

"You're pretty close-minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers." Artemis retorted.

"That's science. I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am. Everything can be explained by science." Wally snapped back.

"What about my astral projecting?" I said.

Wally opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, and closed it again. I stumped him.

"Let us test that theory." Kaldur said, reaching for a door that wasn't there before.

"Wait. The backdraft from the lava will roast us alive." Wally exclaimed. I felt a cold breeze ruffle my fur, and I lashed my tail uncomfortably.

"Brrr! What's that white stuff?" I asked, shivering and puffing out my fur.

"It's snow." M'gann laughed, holding out her hand.

"It's too cold." I whined. "Can we get the lava back?"

"I don't think that's in our best interest." Kaldur replied.

We all jumped through the hole. I shivered again and wished I had brought a heavy coat. The boys never told me snow was this cold.

"What's that?" M'gann asked, pointing at what seemed to be a floating cane.

Artemis and Wally both grabbed it and disappeared in a flash of light. My other three friends turned to each other and shared a worried look. All I could do was wish to be somewhere warm.

We started walking around, and since I wasn't on very friendly terms with Kaldur and M'gann does not give off a lot of body heat, I had to huddle up next to Superboy. I don't know how many times I tripped and got my head stuck in a snow bank. Finally, Superboy just picked me up and carried me like a baby. I protested, mostly to save my dignity, but to no avail. I just let Superboy carry me and tried to get the snow out of my ears.

We changed direction towards a door, but I was too cold to move. Otherwise, I would have jumped up and raced towards it, throwing caution to the wind.

Once we stepped through the door, a warm draft hit us flat in the face. Well, something hit us in the face. Kaldur, Superboy, and I fell face first onto the floor while M'gann floated down next to us.

"Owie…" I whined, holding my head and sitting up. My ears flattened against my head as someone shot at us.

Dazed as I was, I couldn't pinpoint they're location, and I ended up getting thrown over Supey's shoulder. He only put me down when I dug my claws into his back. I turned growling at our opponent, ready to pounce when a shock hit me.

'M'gann, tell the others that Kent Nelson has passed.' I thought, opening my mind long enough to let her see that.

She nodded sadly and relayed the message. Abra Kadabra had trapped Artemis, Superboy, and Kaldur, but I had turned invisible and was sneaking up behind him. He had just zapped M'gann when I pounced on him and pinned him to the ground, breaking his "magic wand".

An ankh symbol appeared behind Abra Kadabra, and his clothes disappeared. I jumped off, hissing in surprise and disgust, while my friends got to their feet and beat him up.

We traveled home, swapping stories. Wally had the helmet as a souvenir, and I swore off snow forever. Doesn't really help where our HQ is located though.

After debriefing, we all went to our rooms, and I bundled up in long jeans and a sky blue sweater. I had gotten a cold for the very first time, and I was miserable for about two weeks before it cleared up.


	6. Chapter 6

August 27, we were sent out on a mission to defeat Clayface. He beat us horribly, and most of the team was lying on the ground unconscious. Only Kaldur and I continued to fight, but we were both exhausted. Kaldur was thrown backwards into the wall, cracking it, and fell to the ground barely conscious.

I pulled out Robin's electric whatevers and shot them at Clayface just as Batman broke through the glass and did the same. Clayface roared in anger and pain and melted into a puddle of sludge.

I leaned against a barrel, panting heavily. "Nice…timing…Bats."

He scowled at me and then at Kaldur, but he helped us load everyone onto the Bioship. We rode home silently, hating how our latest mission turned out.

Once inside the cave, Batman said, "I need to talk to Aqualad. The rest of you hit the showers and head home."

"But I like it here better." I whined, pulling sludge out of my hair and walking off to the showers. M'gann and Artemis were already in there, so I walked in without knocking and disrobed, wondering about Batman and Kaldur's conversation and ignoring my friends.

'Kaldur's been thinking a lot about what I said to him. Maybe he's getting chewed out for his mind being elsewhere.' I thought. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the conversation.

'Whoa. Bats practically kicked Kaldur off of the team. Talk about harsh.' I thought after they were done.

I washed my hair at least a dozen times before the sludge came out, and I had to scrub my entire body before I felt clean again. I pulled on a sky blue T-shirt and ripped jean shorts and walked out of the shower drying my hair with a towel.

"Fera, can we talk?" Kaldur asked softly, coming up next to me.

I simply nodded and continued drying my hair. I couldn't come up with an excuse to leave, and I don't like to just walk away. It's against my nature.

He sighed and said, "Batman has told me to choose whether or not I stay on the team. My mind has been wandering back to Atlantis ever since you…ever since I hurt you at the Harvest Festival. I want to know, should I go to Atlantis…or should I stay?"

Now, it was my turn to sigh. I stood up straight and looked him in the eye. "You need to confront these feelings you have for Tula, and figure out if you ever really had feelings for me. So, yes, I think you should go to Atlantis. I'm telling you this as a friend, Kaldur, go home and get focused."

I rested my hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly. To my surprise, he pulled me into a tight hug and whispered into my ear, "I'm sorry."

I hugged back and slipped away down to my room. Still exhausted, I slipped into bed next to Kitty and fell asleep.

When I woke up, Kaldur was gone. I walked out to the living room to find Superboy watching static, M'gann reading, and Kitty munching on a cookie that she'd swiped from the hidden cookie jar (hidden from Wally). My sister was oblivious to everything but the cookie.

I sat down next to Superboy and turned upside down, staring at the TV for a while. Finally, M'gann asked, "Would you like me to turn that on?"

"No." "Yes." Superboy and I said at the same time, respectively.

He looked down at me, and I looked up at him. I sighed and said, "No."

"Well, would you like to help me make dinner?" M'gann prompted, talking to Superboy. He sighed and stood up, and I stretched out on the couch on my stomach.

"No." He replied, walking into the kitchen. I peeked curiously at them through slit eyes.

M'gann started reciting the ingredients as the things started flying at Superboy. When she finally looked at him, he was covered in it all. I had to stifle my laughter just so that I could continue watching.

M'gann started rambling as she started cleaning off Superboy. They stared oh so soulfully into each other's eyes.

'I can't take this anymore.' I thought. I finally burst into a laughing fit and fell onto the floor.

They both jumped, and Kitty looked at me curiously. She asked, "Why are you laughing?"

I simply pointed at Superboy, trying to contain my laughter. Kitty giggled at him at went back to her cookie.

We heard Red Tornado coming down the hall and quickly tried to look as normal as we could. Superboy sat back onto the couch still dirty, M'gann started chopping onions, and I went back to staring at the static upside down.

Red Tornado walked in, looked around, and then left. I jumped to my feet and brought over a wash cloth and a bowl of hot soapy water.

"The smell of vinegar and eggs on you is driving me nuts, so hold still while I wash it off." I ordered Superboy, cleaning his face and hair. He left to go change and take a shower, since I didn't feel comfortable washing any more of him with M'gann watching. I would never do anything to Superboy since M'gann likes him, and besides, I like Kaldur.

I turned the TV from static to some shows and found a movie about musically talented cats. Kitty jumped onto the couch and curled up on my lap, watching the movie.

I closed my eyes, wanting to see how Kaldur was doing, and opened them again to find myself floating near Kaldur and Tula.

"We wanted to tell you sooner, but Garth and I, we are together." Tula said, looking at Kaldur apologetically.

Kaldur looked down dejectedly and heartbreakingly. I wanted to beat Tula for hurting him. I wanted to make sure she paid for breaking the heart of the guy who had taken my heart. I wanted to do so many awful things to her just for making Kaldur look so sad.

"But I can tell that there is someone else in your life. Whoever she is, I hope she knows that she's very lucky." Tula said, sounding wiser than her years.

Kaldur looked at her in surprise and was about to speak when an explosion rocked Atlantis and shocked me awake. I jumped up gasping in surprise.

"Fera? Are you okay?" M'gann asked concernedly, leaning over the couch.

"I-I'm fine. Just a little bad timing." I stammered, waving her off. I sat there thinking about what I heard and saw. What if Kaldur's in trouble? What if I didn't really hear what I thought I heard? I was driving myself crazy with all of the "what ifs".

Finally, I stood up and announced, "I'm going to go work off some energy."

I walked out and down to the training center, where I wrapped up my hands and set up a punching bag. I let out all of my built up frustration on that punching bag, not even giving myself a chance to think.

I stopped when I suddenly realized that my knuckles were bleeding. I checked the clock and saw that I had been in there for hours. Quickly, I bandaged my hands and ran to my room for a shower and a change of clothes. That's how I spent those long, grueling days.

I thought a bit during my workouts. Usually what my mind kept returning to was my worries about Kaldur's safety. I was truly scared that he'd been hurt, or worse, killed. I realized when I was all alone, punching and kicking targets, that I missed Kaldur terribly and that I really did like him a lot. More than I've ever liked anyone save for Kitty. I just hoped he came home soon, and I would know whether or not he had chosen me.

What his choice was weighed on my mind as well. What if he rejected me? Decided that after Tula, there wasn't anyone he'd rather date? What if he realized he never really liked me and decided he wanted nothing more to do with me?

On September 3, I walked into my room and did my normal post-workout routine. After coming out of the bathroom in a fresh white tank top and jean shorts, I was brushing my teeth when I heard the intercom static to life.

"Team, report to the mission room." Batman ordered over the loudspeakers.

"I just changed, Bats." I whined, changing back out of my clothes and into my uniform.

I ran down the hall to see Kaldur talking to Batman, looking completely unharmed. I smiled with a mixture of happiness and relief.

"Made your decision?" Bats prompted.

"The decision is made. I am here. 100 percent." Kaldur replied, seeing me and smiling reassuringly at me.

Crying out joyfully, I ran over and threw my arms around his neck. He laughed softly and hugged me back as the rest of the team came into the room.

"Just in time for your next mission." Batman said, smiling only a teeny bit.

Kaldur nodded, keeping on arm around my waist. I moved my arms to around his middle, and I couldn't stop smiling. I'd start crying again if anyone gave me more good news.

Kaldur had chosen me! I couldn't have been happier. I told myself over and over that this was real, that it was happening. The guy that I like had chosen me, and I was never letting him go.

'She's different from Tula, but those differences are what I like the most. I am glad I have made the choices I have.' Kaldur thought, filling me with warmth from my ears to my tail tip. I swear I was going to start purring.

I squeezed him gently and smiled a little wider, wanting to just kiss him right then, but I refrained since we were in a briefing. Speaking of which, Bats was about to begin.

"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert." Batman informed us.


	7. Chapter 7

We landed, and Robin went to scope it out. When he gave the all clear, I followed Superboy out of the Bioship with the machine.

Artemis, Robin, and I peeked over the edge of a ridge at the tent. Batman said that all scans pointed to that location.

"Set up here," Kaldur said as Superboy set the machine down and opened it up.

"We'll be up and running in no time." Robin informed us, typing away with Kid Flash looking over his shoulder. Superboy was triple-checking our supplies to make sure we had what we needed.

"Jackpot! This sites lousy with zeta beam radiation." Wally exclaimed proudly.

"Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent." Robin announced, looking over at us.

"Aqualad, Miss Martian and I should check it out. I'll be astral projecting though, since I can't fly to hide my footprints." I said. M'gann nodded in agreement next to me.

"Good idea. Go." Kaldur agreed. He squeezed my hand and added in a whisper, "Be careful. I don't want to lose you already."

"I'll be fine. I'll be careful, I promise." I answered softly, smiling and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Be careful." Superboy told M'gann.

Kaldur added, "And maintain telepathic contact."

"I will, Aqualad." M'gann nodded.

I sat down, and Superboy sat down at my back, letting me lean on him. I closed my eyes and projected to a tent. I could smell the fear scent even before I felt the pain of some strange organism.

M'gann arrived soon, and we cautiously entered the tent. Men in lab coats all stood in front of a large sphere creature. It felt robotic and organic at the same time.

'We're in.' M'gann mentally messaged Kaldur.

Kaldur messaged back to M'gann, knowing I was listening in, 'Good, but tread carefully. Camouflage is not invisible.'

'They're testing something. It's alive. It's in pain!' M'gann mental messaged, opening her mind wider to try and make contact with the sphere, 'Hello? Can you hear me?'

'I can. And an open mind is a dangerous thing. Though your friend was smart enough to protect her mind.' Someone thought into the link. He sounded really creepy and egotistical.

'Psymon can't see you. Psymon can't catch you, but Psymon can make you all forget!' The voice said. I didn't stick around to see what happened. I immediately went back to my body before he even finished his last sentence.

I jumped to my feet, screaming, "Protect your minds!"

I held my forehead to Superboy's and went into his mind quickly, shielding it with mine. The best and easiest thing that I could do was shield his memories of me, seeing as they involved both of us.

My teammates were all crying in pain and walking off in separate directions. I felt their pain through the link with M'gann. Superboy jumped away from me suddenly, accidentally hitting me in the process. I blacked out.

"Ow. Anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?" I hissed, holding my head and sitting up. I looked around puzzled. Daylight? Where were my teammates?

I jumped to my feet, calling out, "Kaldur? Superboy? Robin?" No reply.

"Artemis! M'gann! Wally!" I yelled, running over a sand dune. Over a ridge and into a canyon, there was a little shack. I didn't hear anyone, but Artemis's and Wally's scents went in the direction of the shack.

An explosion blew the shack, and two figures exited. "Artemis! KF!"

I shifted to my half-tiger form and raced after them. Wally looked back. "Fera?! What are you doing here?"

"Right now, I'm avoiding being blown to bits. Long story, tell you later. Could you cut me some slack?" I hissed, out of breath from running with him. I'm not made for this speed.

"How do you know a talking cat person?!" Artemis exclaimed, sounding a little afraid. They both had memory loss. Great. Just great.

"Uh, long story. Tell ya later." Wally replied, still running. We ran until I was about to collapse from exhaustion. Fortunately, Wally's stomach was pretty reliable, so it let him know that he couldn't run anymore.

He stopped and set Artemis down. "Sorry. Running on empty. Don't think I've eaten in a while."

He quickly checked his stores. "Been out here over 24 hours or my cupboards wouldn't be bare."

"We've all been out here since around this time yesterday. Besides, I've got you covered." I informed him, pulling out an energy bar from my pocket and handing it to him.

He dug in. When Wally finished it, he opened his mouth to ask more, but Superboy then fell right in between us all. He yelled wordlessly and lunged at Wally.

"Superboy, stop! He's our friend. I know he's annoying sometimes, but that doesn't mean we try to kill him!" I yelled, tackling him. He threw me away and back-handed Wally, hitting him against the canyon wall.

I groaned, struggling up. "S-Superboy, s-stop p-please."

Artemis repeatedly shot exploding arrows at him, but he came out unharmed and lunged for her. She swiftly dodged. Just as Superboy yelled in fury, a shot from a tank blew up the area around him.

"Artemis! Superboy!" I yelled, running over and picking up my archer friend. She groaned and held her head, coming back to consciousness.

Superboy jumped out of the hole and jumped onto the lead tank, tearing its barrel off. A Bialyan soldier started shooting at him, and he turned around and ripped the gun out of his hands, throwing the soldier and the gun. He reached down and tore the entire top off of the tank. The other tank shot him, and he went flying.

Artemis on her feet, I ran over to him quickly and stood next to the crater he was in. He prepared himself to jump at the tanks again.

"Superboy! Are you okay?" I called worriedly. Looking at me, he growled, jumped up in front of me, and froze.

"It's me, Fera…Superboy…?" I stepped closer to him cautiously moving my hands in a calming motion.

He looked at me like he recognized me. "F-Fera…k-keep F-Fera safe."

"Yes, Superboy. That's what Batman said." I said, reassured. He at least remembered me. I actually managed to save some of his memories.

The tank shot at Superboy, and he screamed, pulling me to his chest and shielding me tightly. He turned back to the tanks and said over his shoulder with the most serious look I've ever seen on him, "I keep Fera safe."

He then jumped on the other tank yelling and tore it to pieces. Wally and Artemis ran off somewhere, completely forgetting about me, but I wanted them safe. I could protect myself, and I had Superboy for back-up even though he's little more than an animal right now.

Two drones flew overhead and shot at something over the ridge, probably my teammates. Knowing I had to check on them, I raced over the ridge and slid down the other side to them.

I saw M'gann smashing the two drones together. She seemed to be alright, and her memories were mostly intact. Yes, I read her mind to check.

"M'gann! Are you okay?" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Well, J'onn, the costume looks…familiar, but I'm not sure the new bod screams 'Manhunter'." Wally said, smiling.

M'gann flew down and stood on the ground in front of us.

"You know my uncle J'onn? Hello Megan, of course you do. You're Kid Flash, Wally, and you're Artemis." She said, turning towards me. "And Fera! How do you know my name?"

"When the psychic creep tried to wipe our minds, I still had my psychic block up, remember? Told you about it the day we met over a month ago." I waved it off. Wally and Artemis just stared at us.

"Uh, do we know her, Fera?" Wally asked, coming up to stand behind me protectively.

I shifted back to my human form. "You really did get your minds wiped, didn't you? I'd say about a six month gap in your memory."

"It's okay! We're teammates, friends! I made you cookies." M'gann tried to explain.

"You know her?" Artemis asked Wally.

"No, I-I swear, beautiful, I've seen her before in my life." Wally replied, sounding completely honest.

I burst into laughter. "I'm so glad I got that on tape! I'm gonna play it as blackmail later."

"What's so funny?" Wally asked, confused. "You're recording this?"

"You two never get along, and you _never_ compliment Artemis. She's gonna get a kick out of this when she gets her memory back." I laughed, pulling my hair up into a ponytail. "And I never go on a mission without my tape recorder."

They all looked over at the smoke filled horizon. I looked up too and told M'gann, "I managed to save some of Superboy's memories. He recognized me."

She looked at me hopefully. "Then, we have to go get him!"

She started to fly, but I grabbed her wrist and sighed remorsefully, "M'gann, I could only save the easiest memories for me to save."

"That doesn't matter, he still has memories! He'll recognize me!" M'gann exclaimed, looking back at me. She didn't get where I was going.

I let go of her wrist and looked down. "The easiest memories that I could save were ones that he and I shared. He doesn't remember anyone but me. I'm sorry."

"We still need to go get him and fill in these two on the way. Robin and Superboy need our help." She insisted stubbornly, flying in the lead. The three of us followed her.

"Of course. Robin and Super-what now?" Wally shrugged his shoulders.

We traveled until the moon was up. It had been almost a full day since my friends lost their memories. I was still trying to get any trace of Kaldur, a sound or a scent. Anything to let me know that he's alright. No such luck though.

We heard gunfire up ahead, and I decided to run ahead of my friends. I ran over a sand dune, and I saw Robin fighting some Bialyan soldiers. I quickly shifted into my half-tiger form and leaped into the fray, knocking two soldiers unconscious and tearing apart two others' guns.

"Fera?! What are you doing in Bialya?" Robin asked, flipping over backwards to avoid the gunfire.

"Right now, trying to save your sorry butt from having a bunch of holes in it." I hissed, high-kicking a soldier's gun out of his hands.

Wally ran through and took a few soldiers' guns away. He and Robin fought back to back for a few moments. M'gann knocked out a couple more soldiers, and Artemis trapped one. I went over and knocked him out.

"KF! Fera! Man, it's good to see some familiar faces." Robin exclaimed, hugging me and clasping Wally's hand.

"Hey, Rob! Memory loss?" Wally prompted, smiling.

"Six months! Let's hog tie these creeps and compare notes." Robin replied.

"Knew it!" I said triumphantly. Smiling, I helped my friends tie up all of the unconscious soldiers.

Then, M'gann and I explained the situation. When we finished, Robin asked, "So, we're a team?"

"The five of us and Superboy." M'gann replied.

"And K- Oh, no!" I exclaimed, my face betraying my horror. I quickly opened my mouth to let the night air waft over my scent glands. I picked up Kaldur's stale scent and raced off along his scent trail.

My friends' voices faded into the distance, and I continued on in the opposite direction of the tent. I was getting closer to where we met Superboy earlier.

"Kaldur. Kaldur!" I called softly, "Oh, Kaldur, where are you?"

I heard a soft groan and leaped on top of a boulder to find Kaldur on the other side, reeking of sickness. I bounded down to sit next to him, pulling his head onto my lap. A tear fell down my face and onto his cheek.

"Oh, Kaldur, I'm so sorry. I should have saved your memories instead of Superboy's. Then, you would be well, and you'd hug me right now and laugh and tell me in that gentle voice of yours how glad you are that I'm alright." I whispered, a few more tears running down my face.

Kaldur started mumbling in Atlantean, which I do not speak or understand. I stroked his head, feeling how dry his skin was. I wished for my water canteen and some ice, but where was I supposed to get them?

'Oh, wait! I'm an idiot.' I thought angrily, mentally kicking myself. I pulled out the water flask I had hidden in my boot and the one I had in my pocket. They were both barely 8 oz., but I figured that it would be enough for now.

I carefully sat Kaldur up against the rock and poured water into his mouth little by little. After the first flask was empty, my friends arrived.

"I-I can't restore his memories in this condition." M'gann stammered, kneeling next to him. I pulled Kaldur to me protectively.

"He needs immediate rehydration. Call the Bioship." Robin ordered.

"I have only 8 oz. of water left. It might be enough to keep him alive for now." I informed him, holding up the tightly closed flask.

"It's out of range, but you can get him there fast." M'gann said hopefully, looking up at Wally. I know she just wants to go help Superboy.

"He's too heavy, and I'm too low on fuel. Right now, I couldn't even carry her." Wally replied, jabbing his thumb at Artemis.

"Why not just levitate him back?" Artemis suggested, hitting Wally's hand away from her. I started pouring water in Aqualad's mouth again.

"I can't. I have to find Superboy." M'gann said, standing up, "Six months ago, he didn't exist. He only has the memories that Fera saved, and those are all of her and him. He's been running off of animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him."

"If he was free right now, he'd be looking for me. When he saw me earlier, he told me 'I keep Fera safe'. It's his order from Batman, and he's sticking by it." I informed her.

"Superboy's indestructible. Just ask those tanks. But it's Aqualad that needs your help. Like, now!" Wally stated, motioning with his hands.

I looked up at M'gann, the water in the last flask already half gone. Opening my mind to her, I told her, "I know how it feels to want to protect someone dear to you and the guilt of not doing it sooner. I want to protect Kaldur, but I saved Superboy's memories instead of Kaldur's and neglected Kaldur since the psychic attack. I hate myself for it now. Go protect Superboy. I'll take care of Kaldur."

I felt her in my mind, reading all of the thoughts of guilt, of caring, and she nodded. We were closer than sisters now, united in our shared quest to protect our loved ones. I closed off my mind again.

M'gann held her head suddenly as if in pain. She looks at everyone panicked. "No! Superboy's in pain."

She suddenly flew off towards the tent. Her worried thoughts trailed after her, but her determination rang clear.

"We still don't know what erased our memories! It could happen again." Robin yelled after her.

My friends made to follow her, but I raised my hand to stop them. They looked at my expression and then at Kaldur.

"I can carry Kaldur to the Bioship, since I still have most of my strength. Robin, give Wally one of your power bars, and I'll give him my last one. We'll need his speed." I ordered, tossing Wally the packaged food. Robin nodded and gave Wally one, too.

I shifted into full tiger form, and they all helped get Kaldur onto my back. Robin tied him and me together around our middles with some rope. Kaldur's shallow breathing ruffled my ear fur, and I could feel his heartbeat on my back, letting me know that he was still alive.

"Let's move." Robin said, leading the way with his map.

We'd made it a little ways when I heard a car in the distance, my ear twitching towards it. I let out a soft growl, and Robin nodded.

"Over here." He ordered softly. We all ran behind a dune quickly, Kaldur still secured to my back.

The truck drove past, and Kaldur started talking in Atlantean again. I heard him say Tula's name, and I suppressed the urge to roll onto my back. I harrumphed and changed into my half-tiger form.

"Remind me to smack him when he's well again." I growled quietly. I looked back at his unconscious face as he continued to mumble and softened. Untying him from me, I laid his head on my lap and stroked his face gently. "Sh, Kaldur. _Silêncio agora, meu herói precioso_." (Quiet now, my precious hero.)

Robin peeked over the rock and then turned back to us. "We can't risk a firefight with Aqualad KOed like this."

"It's not just him. I'm way out of juice." Wally whispered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And I'm almost out of arrows." Artemis added quietly. They hadn't noticed Robin had already slipped away to deal with the problem.

I was still stroking Kaldur's face and started lightly tracing my finger over his features. His proud, strong jawbone, his gently sloping nose, his defined chin, his soft lips that had so often smiled a heartwarming smile at me, his closed eyes that were usually thoughtful and understanding.

The two lovebirds had started bickering, and it was getting louder. Almost too loud. Robin decided to come back just then.

"Yeesh. Get a room." He said softly to them. He turned to me and asked, "How is he?"

I looked up at him, only my eyes betraying how worried I was. "He's bad, but he's better since I gave him the water. He has gotten a little more color to his cheeks."

"Dude, where were you?" Wally demanded.

"Breaking radio silence." Robin smirked. He turned to look over at the soldiers, and as his recorded laugh started playing, he helped secure Kaldur back onto my tiger back.

We started moving very quickly as smoke and dust filled the air. We made good time, not drawing attention to ourselves. Finally, we made it to the Bioship in one piece.

"Fera, lay Kaldur on the table." Robin ordered, climbing aboard and getting out first aid. He hooked Kaldur to an IV, and I dabbed at his forehead with a wet washcloth.

Wally pulled out the pillow we'd left on the ship for Kitty and put it under Kaldur's head. I smiled and nodded gratefully at him before sitting next to Kaldur and taking his hand, twining his fingers in mine.

"Please be okay." I begged softly, bringing Kaldur's hand up to my face. I inhaled deeply, imprinting Kaldur's scent into my mind. I placed a wet cloth over his hot forehead and waited, praying he'll wake up.

After I don't know how long, M'gann sent everyone a telepathic message. I listened in to my friends' thoughts.

'Hey, everybody. I've got Superboy, and we're on our way.' She mental messaged them.

Kaldur gasped and suddenly sat up. He looked up at me. "Who are you? And how did you get inside my head?"

I eased him back down, smiling gently. "It's alright, Kaldur. We're your friends. You're safe with us."

Truly, it hurt deep in my heart that he didn't recognize me. Then again, he had had his memories erased, so I guess it's okay this time. Only this time.

'Hello Megan! Aqualad's memories. I knew I forgot something.' M'gann mental messaged us.

'Aw, man! Me too. I didn't get a souvenir from the mission.' Wally complained in his head to us.

'Don't worry. Got the souvenir thing covered.' M'gann assured him.

"She has the sphere creature from the tent with her." I informed my teammates in the Bioship.

"What are you talking about? Where is Garth? And Tula?" Kaldur questioned, foggily. He looked up at me with such a longing that it shocked me.

It felt like a hand was squeezing my heart from how he mentioned Tula. So soon after he had decided on me, he lost his memory and thinks he still loves Tula.

"I know King Orin. We are friends of his." I said gently, masking my pain behind a small smile. I placed the wet cloth back onto his forehead after wetting it again.

"If you are friends of King Orin, prove it." He challenged defiantly.

I nodded. "King Orin is Aquaman to the surface dwellers. He is a founding member of the Justice League. We are the protégés of the Justice League."

M'gann arrived then and quickly went into Kaldur's mind, restoring his memories. I sat and watched them worriedly. I was getting a bad feeling, but maybe that was just my nerves getting to me.

When she was done, M'gann turned to me and smiled. "His memories are all restored. Also, you two are very lucky."

She walked away, and I sat there staring at Kaldur. He turned his head and stared back at me.

"Fera?" He asked softly. He looked into my eyes and smiled his heartwarming smile. "I'm okay."

Relieved tears welled up in my eyes, and I grinned happily and hugged him tightly. "And I'm very glad about that."

I pulled away, and we stared at each other for a few more minutes. It wasn't awkward staring, more like I-thought-I'd-lost-you staring. Finally, my face fell, and I stared at my hands in my lap.

"What's wrong?" Kaldur asked gently, concern in his eyes.

I lifted up my arm and slugged his shoulder, nearly knocking him off his table. I looked at him angrily and shook my fist. "Do you want to know how many times I heard the name Tula come out of your mouth while you were unconscious?! I really had to resist the urge of rolling on you when you were tied to my back."

Kaldur grabbed my hand and kissed it. "I am sorry, but you know that I was not in control of what I said while unconscious. I don't know what else to say."

I blushed a little, harrumphed, and sat back down. I crossed my arms and legs and pouted, looking away from Kaldur. He just smiled at me and fell asleep.

I looked at him and gently kissed his forehead. I really, honestly, truly love him. I know that there's no mistaking that now. I've come to realize that I love him. Admitting it to him that I do is another matter.

The ride home was peaceful. The sphere is actually really cool. It's alien technology that's organic with its own thoughts and actions, unlike the Bioship that responds to M'gann's mental commands.

Superboy and I managed to get Kaldur to the infirmary, and I stayed the rest of the night in there with him. Kitty came in, but she didn't stay long. She was afraid of all the machines.

When morning came, Batman came in to check on us, and he debriefed us. He told Kaldur that he was free to go but to take it easy for a couple of days.

Kaldur and I separated to go clean up and rest. At around noon, I was restless and decided a walk would do me good, leaving Kitty to sleep peacefully in our room. I changed into a sky blue V-neck T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts without shoes. I wandered the HQ before going out onto the beach.

The sea was as alive as always, pounding away on the sand. Sea gulls called, and the wind blew gently, lifting my hair from my back. I walked along the edge of the beach where the waves came up over my feet.

Inhaling, I smiled at the clean scents from the recent rain. I smiled happily and turned my face up to the sun, feeling its warm rays.

"May I join you?" Kaldur asked from behind me, startling me.

I whipped around and smiled. "I don't mind."

He came closer as I turned back to watching the ocean. He wrapped his arms around my middle from behind and pulled me to his chest. We watched the ocean together for a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kaldur asked, his eyes betraying his wish.

"Yes, the ocean is. I wouldn't mind living by it one day." I replied, kissing his cheek. I added playfully, "As long as there's no snow."

He laughed and rested his chin on my shoulder. He grew more solemn. "What about Felina?"

"I don't know. I've always thought that I'd live there my entire life, find a mate, and settle down. Now that I've left, I've found the outside world to be so fascinating that I'm considering staying." My face grew dark. I had thought about it, but it always ended the same with me staying in Felina and ruling until I could relinquish the throne to my child.

I blinked out of my thoughts and smiled before flipping Kaldur into the water. "Ha ha! Can't catch me!"

I raced off down the beach with Kaldur laughing and hot on my heels. We reached the rock wall, and I climbed up to the top. I opened my arms wide and basked in the sunlight until Kaldur climbed up and easily picked me up from behind. I squealed in laughter as he swung me around.

Finally, he set me down and turned me around to face him. Cupping my chin gently, he prompted, "What is my prize for catching you?"

I leaned up and kissed him lightly. I pulled away smiling. "There's your prize."

He chuckled and pressed his lips to my forehead tenderly, taking my hands in his. This moment was a precious one, a rare moment without any distractions from my teammates, and I hoped they wouldn't ruin it.

My hopes were dashed when Kitty ran out followed by M'gann and more slowly by Superboy. I turned to them with Kaldur still holding one of my hands.

"Fera! Guess what?" M'gann flew up to us excitedly. Superboy carried Kitty up after her.

"What?" I replied. I didn't feel like reading her mind.

"We're starting school tomorrow! You, me, Superboy, and Kitty!" M'gann exclaimed, doing a happy little twirl in the air.

Kaldur smiled. "I'm not included because someone has to be here in case of an emergency."

"Aw. It'd be fun if we could all go to school together." I pouted, picking up Kitty.

I leaped down from the rock wall to the beach with my friends following. We talked about school and what we hope it's like. Kitty would be starting preschool, and M'gann, Superboy, and I would be going to the local high school.

"I hope everyone there is nice." M'gann said, passing out her freshly baked cookies.

"If they aren't, just ignore them. I've read that bullies go away if they can't get a rise out of you." I munched on a cookie and gave one to Kitty. I sat next to Kaldur on the couch with Kitty curled up into my other side.

Kaldur stretched his arms over the back of the couch. "That goes only for non-powered bullies. The super-powered ones tend to just think they can get away with whatever they want."

"I'd better go fix my bike then. Gotta have some form of transportation besides the Bioship." Superboy said, finishing his cookie and leaving.

"My bike's working just fine. I'll have to drop Kitty off at preschool before going to high school though." I tapped my chin thoughtfully. Kitty finished her cookie and fell asleep with her head in my lap. I stroked her hair gently, and she purred in her sleep.

M'gann started dinner, and everyone but Kitty ate. Then, we split up to get ready for school.

I showered and set out my usual sky blue T-shirt and jean shorts. Then, I curled up with Kitty and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning at 6:30 and dressed quickly into my sky blue T-shirt and ripped jean shorts, waking up Kitty. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

"Sorry, sweetie, but it's time for school." I said, gently shaking her shoulder.

She groggily sat up and dressed in a short-sleeved pink T-shirt and a pair of jean overalls. She put on tennis shoes, and I carried her to the kitchen to get our lunches from M'gann. Then, we followed her, J'onn, Red Tornado, and Kaldur to the hangar where Superboy was finishing fixing his bike with the sphere.

"Ready for school? I got our lunches." M'gann flew down to Superboy smiling.

"The first day of a scholastic season carries great cultural residence. We want to wish you all well." J'onn said as the rest of us stood in front of Superboy and Miss M.

"Guess it's not a Kryptonian thing." Superboy shrugged.

"You may wish to change before you depart." Kaldur suggested hesitantly.

M'gann quickly changed, saying, "Ugh! I spent hours choosing this outfit. What do you think? Can M'gann M'orzz pass as an Earth girl now?"

I saw Superboy's tender look that he gave M'gann from behind. I smiled and said, "Earth girls aren't green, silly."

"Just kidding!" M'gann exclaimed, changing her skin tone to Caucasian. She twirled around and curtsied. "Meet Megan Morse. What are your new names?"

"I'll be going by Lynn Ferald, and Kitty will be going as Kitty Ferald." I replied, smiling at Kitty who smiled back.

"My what?" Superboy asked, confused.

"A secret identity! The kids at school can't know you're Superboy without endangering them and you." I answered.

"I chose the name John Jones for myself and suggested the name John Doe for Red Tornado. You can be a John too." J'onn suggested, changing into an Earth man.

"Pass," Superboy said, crossing his arms.

"Conner's always been my favorite name." M'gann suggested gently, setting a hand on Superboy's arm. He shrugged.

"It suits you, Supey. So, how about a last name?" I smiled.

"Perhaps Kent." J'onn proposed.

"That fits perfectly!" I agreed. Superman's secret identity is Clark Kent, so Conner Kent is perfect for Superboy.

"Oh! In memory of Dr. Fate, the late Kent Nelson." M'gann stated.

"Actually, it's for-" I began.

"Well, you'd better get going before you're late." Kaldur said.

"But Conner has to change his shirt." M'gann protested.

Conner looked at his shirt and took it off. He turned it inside out and held it up to the blushing M'gann. He sighed, "Will this work?"

I covered Kitty's eyes as M'gann replied dreamily, "Works for me."

"Wait, shouldn't I be Conner Nelson?" Conner asked, putting his shirt back on and walking away with M'gann in tow.

I put a helmet on Kitty before giving Kaldur a kiss good-bye and pulling on my own helmet, hopping on the bike with Kitty secured in front of me. I rode off toward the elementary school where Kitty would be attending. In front of the school, I helped Kitty take her helmet off and then kneeled in front of her.

"No telling anyone where you're from, who you really are, and what you can do. No shifting out of human form." I instructed quietly. She nodded obediently, and I softened and hugged her. I kissed her forehead and got back onto my bike. "Be good. Love you!"

"I love you too, Big Sissy. I'll be good, I promise." Kitty smiled worriedly and waved as I drove off. I heard a couple of little boys had come over and started telling Kitty how cool her sister's bike is.

Smiling, I rode to the high school. I parked just in time to see something already going wrong on our first day of school.

A boy on a skateboard tried to ride past Conner, but he picked him up by his collar and poked his chest. "Explain this."

The boy was wearing a superheroes' emblem on his shirt. I quickly ran over. "Conner, put the poor boy down."

"What's your problem?" Another boy spoke up from behind them. "Put my man, Marvin, down."

He removed his arm from around his girlfriend and glared. Marvin stammered, "Uh, um, I-I don't think he likes my shirt."

Conner quickly scanned every T-shirt around us, seeing that most people were wearing superhero emblems on their chests. He growled, "Your shirt is fine. Everyone's shirts are fine."

"Someone's fine." The big guy's girlfriend, a cheerleader, said as Conner dropped Marvin.

"Hi. We're new. I'm Megan Morse, and this is Conner Kent." Megan greeted them.

"Lynn Ferald." I added, pointing at myself.

"Double alliteration. I like it." Marvin said, giving Megan a once over.

Conner and the big guy stalked up to each other and had a stare down. You could practically see then tension between them.

"Okay, you two, knock it off. Conner, we didn't come here to fight." I said, shouldering my way between the two.

The big guy looked down at me and then walked towards the school building, bumping Conner's shoulder on the way. He made to follow the boy with the intent of picking a fight, but Megan and I barred his way.

Superboy grumbled as another cheerleader and Marvin walked up. The cheerleader spoke up first.

"Hi, I'm Wendy. I was new last year, so I know how hard it is to fit in. But you two look like instant Bumblebee material to me." She said, looking at M'gann and me. We stared blankly at her. She smiled and did a little twirl. "Cheerleaders. The Bumblebees. Tryouts are after school.

M'gann looked all excited. "Thanks! I-I'll be there."

"Not my thing, so I'll pass. Thanks though." I shrugged, smiling to show I was being sincere. Megan and Wendy walked off, and Conner and I made to follow her when Marvin stopped us.

"Dudes, facing down Mal Duncan. Fierce. Not too bright, but fierce." He said in a sort of awe.

"That's us." I joked light-heartedly.

"So, how do you all know each other?" Marvin asked, walking with us towards class.

"Well…Megan is Conner's girlfriend…and I'm his…step-sister." I replied quickly. Superboy _is_ like a brother to me. I love how he's so gentle with Kitty, and he's great to spar with. He's one of my best friends.

The bell rang, and we ran into our homeroom. Conner sat next to Megan, and I sat two rows in front of them in the front of the classroom. I only sat there to not look obvious and to remain in telepathic range.

Our homeroom teacher turned on the TV to a news report on a peace summit happening in Rhelasia. Apparently, Lex Luther is into peace now because he's helping the two warring countries settle their differences.

"Okay, class. Who can tell me more about Rhelasia?" The teacher asked, turning off the TV. "Marvin."

"Well, um, Mr. Carr, it's better than Fakeasia." Marvin stammered, shrugging with a blank smile on his face. A few people snickered at his joke.

"Anyone else?" Mr. Carr sighed, smiling.

"Modern Rhelasia was created in 1855 and ruled by the Bokung dynasty until it was divided by the Great Powers into North and South Rhelasia after World War II." Conner replied mechanically.

Everyone but Megan and I stared at him in surprise, even the teacher. Finally, Mr. Carr smiled. "Very good."

"But why are they fighting? They're all human. I mean, Rhelasians. Right?" Superboy prompted, obviously confused. Poor boy hasn't been in the world long enough or learned how the world works.

"Right on both counts actually." The teacher answered, turning back to the board.

The same thing was happening in Felina. In Felina, the smaller Felinians are considered a minority to the "Royal" Felinians, the Felinians who can turn into the large cats instead of the medium sized wild cats. I try to stop it as much as I can, but it still happens beneath my radar. Too often beneath my radar.

We sat through the rest of the lesson, with me taking diligent notes. Superboy and M'gann didn't even bother to take notes, so I guess I'm sharing if they need it.

We were released for lunch, and I sat with Superboy under a tree to eat. M'gann was off eating lunch with Wendy and the cheerleaders. We both ate in comfortable silence, only speaking meaningless tidbits. Like, "How is your sandwich?" and "The weather seems fair today. Gonna get rain later though."

We continued like that until next period's bell rang, and we separated to go to our classes. The rest of the day was pretty much the same as homeroom. I listened, took notes, and ignored the talking and staring, which was mostly about my hair with its "odd" black stripes. It was pretty much a routine by the time the last bell rang.

I quickly drove down to the preschool to get Kitty since I thought she might like to see Megan's tryout. We raced back to the school and climbed up the bleachers to sit next to Conner.

"Go, Megan!" Kitty cheered. The martian girl turned smiling and waved up at us.

"Okay, Megan. You're up." Wendy announced, giving her a thumbs up.

M'gann then did a little cheer that I frankly zoned out. When she was done, I focused in again to see two girls carrying a water basin and dumping it on M'gann.

Conner broke the seats next to him, wanting to go down there, but I yanked him back to his seat. He was unbalanced though and fell down the bleachers to the ground.

"Sorry. It's a stupid initiation ritual that I wish my teammates would abandon." Wendy apologized.

"Megan made the team!" Kitty yelled excitedly, jumping up. I pulled her back into my lap before she fell down the bleachers like Conner.

Megan quickly hugged the cheerleaders, thanking them happily. Karen, Mal's girlfriend, turned to Superboy and said, "So, is that your boyfriend? 'Cause he's hot but kind of a freak."

I lifted up Kitty and bounded down the bleachers to the ground. "That 'freak' happens to be my step-brother."

"Whoops. Sorry, Lynn. Didn't mean to offend you." Karen apologized, putting up her arms in a calming motion.

"Just once." I replied, helping Conner to his feet. Kitty jumped from my arms into his and hugged him as best her little arms could.

Conner gave M'gann his jacket and picked up her books. She looked surprised. "You're carrying my books?"

"What? You want them to get wet?" Conner shrugged and started walking home. I grabbed my bike and walked beside them.

When we arrived back at the cave, Kaldur was gone, and I was a little disappointed. Batman must have sent him on a mission. I hoped he was okay.

I put Kitty down for a nap and sat at my desk to do homework. It wasn't anything too serious, just Algebra II and a little bit of World History. I'd finished the World History homework when Kaldur knocked on my door and poked his head in.

"Pardon the intrusion." He said, smiling.

I stood up and hugged him. I noticed that his uniform was a little ripped up, and he smelled like smoke.

"How'd your mission go? Are you hurt?" I questioned worriedly.

"The mission was considered a success, and no, I'm not hurt. I lost my favorite jacket though." Kaldur replied, kissing my forehead.

We walked out of my room hand in hand, homework forgotten. We went to the living room where M'gann was setting out an after school snack, a big bowl of popcorn. I snatched some and popped it into my mouth sitting on the couch. Kaldur sat next to me.

Superboy came in and sat down in the arm chair. M'gann brought the popcorn over and set it on the coffee table, sitting down in the other arm chair.

"How was school?" Kaldur asked, munching on a handful of popcorn.

"I made the cheerleading squad." M'gann replied happily, practically bouncing in her seat.

"I managed to keep Conner from beating up some guy at school." I shrugged, resting my head on Kaldur's shoulder. "Plus, I think only M'gann made some friends today."

"I fell down the bleachers." Superboy shrugged, taking some popcorn.

"Oh, and Superboy, if anyone asks, Kitty and I are your step-sisters. And M'gann's your girlfriend." I informed him of my excuses.

"H-his girlfriend?" M'gann stammered, blushing.

Superboy just nodded and continued to eat his popcorn. We continued telling Kaldur about our day, and he told us about his mission. Kitty came out following the smell of food and dug into the popcorn.

I tossed up a piece of popcorn and caught it in my mouth. Kaldur opened his mouth, and I tossed him a piece of popcorn, missing his mouth and hitting his nose. He laughed and tossed a piece back, but I caught it in my mouth smiling happily. Kitty climbed onto my lap and curled up after finishing a couple of handfuls of popcorn.

I threw some popcorn at Superboy, and he caught it in his mouth. He threw some back, but it bounced off my chin. I laughed, and M'gann used her telekinesis to drop popcorn in all of our mouths.

We laughed and continued like this until all of the popcorn was gone. Guess what? We had to clean it all up, too. I vacuumed while M'gann washed up and the boys moved the furniture. Kitty somehow managed to sleep through the vacuum cleaner and being lifted on the couch into the air. I swear she can sleep through a nuclear war.

When we were done, Kaldur followed me as I put Kitty to bed. We stood in the deserted hallway just outside my door.

"Kaldur, do you really believe what Sportsmaster said?" I questioned quietly. Apparently, there was a mole on the team, and Kaldur was growing suspicious.

"I…I must be prepared if he turns out to be correct." Kaldur answered hesitantly. He looked down. "Everyone is under suspicion. Even you."

"What if it's not even an official member of the team though? What if the mole is someone close to the team?" I insisted, frowning.

"That is also a possibility, but we must not rule out the possibility of a mole on the team. Please keep this quiet from the others. I don't want mistrust spreading amongst the team." Kaldur said, putting his hands on my upper arms and stroking them with his thumbs.

I shrugged off his hands. "You can trust Roy with this, but you can't trust me? That stings, Kaldur. That really stings."

He kissed me softly, but I looked away. He sighed and cupped my chin in one of his hands, making me look him in the eye. "If I didn't trust you with it, would I be here discussing it with you?"

"No, probably not, but we both know there could be a million reasons besides trust." I replied, crossing my arms.

"Yes, there could, but you know that I do trust you with my life." Kaldur smiled gently.

I leaned up and kissed him, saying softly, "I know."

Kaldur lead me back to the living room, and we curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Since neither of us cared for the romance movies M'gann had bought, we pulled out Superboy's action movies from their hiding place.


End file.
